Black Hole Sun, Twilight - An alternate telling
by Belavula
Summary: This is essentially a recreation of the original tale of Twilight, only the main pairing is between Bella and Edythe. I feel their romance transcends gender and their love between souls is something worth celebrating in this form. The more I pondered it, the more I felt it live and breathe in my head. This will be a lengthy project, with major changes happening later.
1. Preface

**Foreword**

Hello, I'm Bela Rabenstein, and I absolutely love the Twilight series. Essentially, the purpose of my fanfiction is to explore an alternate world in which every character as possible will remain the same in name, age, and personality. Except for Edward.

In this new telling, Edward is Edythe, and yes-this is a fem/slash. Personally there are not enough female x female romances in the world that are not distorted to either be all about 'sex' or feature this pairing. The more I thought about Bella and Edward, the way they fell in love, and are in many ways out of step with the world they live in, the more this altered paring seemed to gain grounding and value to me. I understand that same sex pairings can make many uncomfortable, even in this day and age, and I hope you can forgive my telling of a romance in this unconventional form. It won t stop me from writing it if you are unsettled, it just means you can find one of a hundred other fanfictions that will settle your stomach.

For myself, I had no stories of young same-sex teenage couples innocently falling in love to be able to move past my strict Christian background. If I end up putting myself into the characters, it s unintentional, but that s rather what fanfictions tend to be all about. A great deal of that may show up in Bella throughout this story, even Edythe, who was born in a very different time period than these modern days. I ve taken liberties of course, but while there may be special Adult rated stories concerning this pairing down the road this is meant to be an encouragement. To elaborate what love can be, and how we can feel it regardless of outside constraints.

So that begged the question, if I could chose any well-known or semi-known actress, who was the most suited to appear as similar to Robert Patternson's character. I finally settled on an old photo of Kierra Knightley, with slightly rusty hair and modified eyes and skin to more resemble Edward. It is rare I m attracted to redheads, and so I looked up several shades of copper, and some copper is very bronze-like, so I went for something slightly more bronze-gold in the coloration of the inspiration image. If you wish to imagine the pure copper as red or strawberry blond, the choice of changing my wording there will belong to you - the reader.

My original goal was to change as little as possible to the point where I did my story a disservice. I don't want to temper with the integrity or 'feel' of the story; but, I wanted something lovely and enjoyable for others who are established or still finding themselves, to have a female x female romance to read with some truth to feeling and integrity. A love that goes beyond gender or physical body and transcends from one soul to another soul. I feel in that aspect, the story between Edward/Edythe and Bella doesn't change, and I hope this fanfiction can get that point across as much as possible.

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 _ **To answer any questions here:**_

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* Attempting to follow the same guide as the novels, with flavor from the films, I m trying not to majorly change the plot as I go along chapter to chapter. However, I don t know what big changes the little ones will cause until the plot develops. Enjoy the surprise, I certainly am!

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* I was asked offline once if I accept donations for the time I put in writing any fanfiction. I will never accept donations. Period. You guys can save this, read it, I don't care. If it inspires you and you enjoyed the read, that's really all that matters to me as it should to anyone sharing their silly fantasies (long or short). I'm writing this for me, but I thought others might like to read it, so here it is.

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* The Ebooks I read while I type all belong to Stephanie Meyer, my fanfiction is for my own whimsy and fun, and I mean no insult by sharing my own interpretation of this fanfiction. I m going to be going through Supermassive Black Hole as soon as this is done, so I can enter into Space Bound with a clear conscience that I captured the dream I was trying to share. Thank you for your time, I hope you can appreciate my telling, and give credits to the original author Stephanie Meyer, by adoring her novels where Edythe and Beau have their unique ending together, and Edward and Bella have Renesme.  
So, if you don't mind a lengthy read, please give me your comments or PMs if desired, I'll answer any questions you have.

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 **Fan Recommendations:**

 _This section is for recommendations of other authors or stories about Bella and Edythe! Please check them out and enjoy the work of other dreamers on :" If you find another author or story you want to add to this list, please PM me and I'll add it here._

1) 8dr Whovian

On an unrelated tangent, I've been following a series on here recently that I would recommend to fans of Bella/Edythe by an author called 'bellaedythforever'. At the moment the breaking dawn story is about 22 chapters in and the writing quality and character development is very good. The plot of the entire saga is very well fleshed out (the twilight segment alone clocks in at 50 chapters and 313000 words) and the entire Bella/Edythe relationship is much healthier and better developed than canon Bella/Edward.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!

Fair warning though, the writer makes some unfortunate changes (in my opinion) to canon lore regarding the way vampire venom works. The love triangle remains intact and I also can't recommend it if you dislike the entire concept of hybrids existing. For obvious reasons there is no half vampire baby, but the way the author manages to shoehorn the concept into the plot regardless has really disappointed me, which is a shame. It's purely a matter of opinion, but I would take Renesmee from canon over the way it seems hybrids are going to be handled in here.

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 **Preface**

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I'd never given much thought to how I would die, though I'd had reason enough in the last few months. Even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.  
I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.

Surely it was a good way to die, I wagered. In the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.

I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. Terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not unreasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.

The hunter smiled, luminous and friendly, as he sauntered forward to kill me.


	2. Chapter One - Forks

_Thank you for waiting, this chapter ended up being much longer than I remembered it, in part from how much detail I tried to focus on. I hope you are fond of this rewrite, and I look forward to writing a more compelling version as I go forward. There is a lot Bella is going to discover about herself, and she needs time for the reality to sink in._

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 **Chapter One**

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On the last day I lived in Phoenix, my mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees, the sky was its signature, cloudless, blue and the wind was electrifying. As a farewell gesture, I decided to wear a shirt my mom had bought me for my last birthday – a sleeveless, white, eyelet lace shirt. The smile on her face when she saw me in it was the warmth I needed to keep the heat alive for the foreseeable future...and when I boarded the plane, all I had was my bag, a suitcase, and a parka.

My dad, Charlie, lives in the Olympic Peninsula of the northwest Washington State, in a small town named Forks that is under an almost constant cover and clouds and rain. It rains more often in this inconsequential town than any other place that I know of, at least within the States. It was from this tiny, gloomy, omnipresent shadow that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this tiny town that I'd been compelled to spend an entire month almost every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down and Charlie took time off work to vacation with me for two weeks instead.

As much as I loved Phoenix, the sun, and even the blistering heat, this change was worth it. I don't know how convincing my smile was at the airport, maybe my mom was trying hard to pretend I wasn't happy with this self-imposed exile, but before we turned in my ticket she stopped me.

"Bella," She said to me – the last of a thousand times. "You don't have to do this."

Watching her face, her eyes so wide and childlike with worry, my resolve strengthened me. No one could say in this moment, regardless of how many harebrained things she had said or done in my life, that she didn't love me and want me to be happy. Even with having met and married my Step-dad Phil, and with it the reassurance that there would be someone to remind her to do things like 'pay bills' or 'cook without the smoke-alarm as a timer', staying simply wasn't a choice I could live with.

"Mom, I want to go," the lie fell from me, with more eloquence than any other lie I could remember making.

"I'll see you soon," She promised, her eyes insisting, even as I knew the likelihood of seeing her soon was like waiting on rain in the desert. "You can come home whenever you want – I'll come right back as soon as you need me."

She was so earnest, which was part of the problem. We both needed to learn how to stand on our own feet. There was pain in her eyes, more than just the pain of parting, and she couldn't hide it from me anymore than I could hide my dislike of Forks from her.

"Don't worry, okay?" I urged, squeezing her hand. "I'll manage, see how dad likes being babysat for a while," the joke fell from me, and for a moment there was laughter in her eyes.

"Say hi to Charlie for me."

"I will," I replied, slightly pained, as she squeezed my hand back a mite too hard.

"I'll see you soon," She insisted with anxiety creeping back into her voice. "And if you want to come ho-"

"Mom, I'm gonna have a great time with Dad. I'll call you when I land," I promised her, and she wrapped her arms around me. That one minute felt like all the sun from Phoenix was pooling into my skin, and in a moment I was on the plane, and she was gone.

It's about a four hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, on a good day, and another hour in a small plane to arrive at Port Angeles – a city near the Canadian Border. The time spent in the air didn't really bother me...the hour-long drive to Forks with Charlie was another story.

To commend him, Charlie had been pretty nice about this whole situation. He seemed genuinely happy that I was coming to live with him with any degree of permanence. Before I left Phoenix, he'd already gotten me registered for their local high school, and he promised to help me get a car.

Charlie was a great man to have as a father, but being alone with him for any lengthy period of time was uncomfortably awkward. Neither one of us was what anyone would call 'verbose', and two people who aren't prone to lengthy conversation often end up sitting in silence for hours together. An hour of silence, with no radio, was hard enough. An hour of my father asking me questions? Even worse.

I didn't doubt that he was more than a little confused as to why I wanted to move to Forks – I'd never made a secret of how I hated it there. So when I landed to the familiar rainy climate of Port Angeles, I didn't see it as an omen more-so than the inevitable. Olive, muted, green parka strapped around me, I'd made my peace with the loss of sunshine. My father's brown eyes waiting for me in the driver's seat of his police cruiser, were equally inevitable.

Stepping out of the Cruiser when I approached, my father – Police Chief Swan, of Forks – moved to give me an awkward, one-armed, hug.

"Hey, Bells, don't fall over," he said, smiling as he caught and steadied me against his side. Which was, in hindsight, a good thing, as my shoes weren't made for the rain and I about stumbled down the ramp toward him.

"I'm fine, thanks, Dad," I said with some effort to at least pretend to be as thrilled to be here as Charlie seemed to be.

"This all your bags?" He asked, ever the practical person, and I shook my head as his arm moved out from around me. Hugs that were too long made both of us uncomfortable, especially with onlookers present.

What I brought was soon packed into the back seat of the Police Cruiser, very little of which were actually clothes. After all, most of the things one wears in Arizona simply aren't warm enough for constant rainfall, so while mom and I had pooled our resources to buy me enough to get buy for a while, I had brought mostly books, necessities, and things I couldn't bear to leave behind.

"I found a good car for you," Charlie announced as soon as we were both strapped in.

"What kind of car?" My voice could only thinly veil my concern, what did 'good car – for you -' signify, anyway? Was it cheap?

His mouth curled into a mild grumble, a usual expression he made when he was having trouble wording himself. "Well, it's not so much a car...but a truck. A Chevy, Billy Black's old truck."

My confusion when he glanced over at me made him pause. "You know, Billy Black from La Push? He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted, several times, but still I could feel myself blinking far too much in confusion. A gesture most recognized as 'Deer in headlights' or 'please stop trying to talk to me, I'm uncomfortable,' and my father struggled to tow the line between explaining and alienating.

"Sorry, it's been a long time..."

The apology soothed him, and he relented from making explanations. "Well, He's in a wheelchair now, so he can't drive anymore and offered it to me."

If I could acknowledge how much my mouth pursing in response looked like my father's uncomfortable grumble, it might have bothered me, but still – I made it. "How old is it?" Or the veiled question: Is it going to fall apart half-way down the street?

My father's sinking expression, nay the powerful cringe that made his mustache twist into a half-open curtain, meant he had been hoping I wouldn't ask.

"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine over the years, so it's not in as rough shape as one might think."

My stomach knotted, my mouth curled...my father reluctantly explained more.

"It's a 1984, around there."

I didn't need to ask if 'around there' meant he shaved off a year or...twenty.

"...I don't know, Dad, I don't know the first thing about Trucks. If it broke down, I really can't afford to pay for something like that-"

He interrupted me, with an optimistic chuckle. "I wouldn't tell ya about it if it wasn't up to snuff. They don't make engines like that anymore, it's been thoroughly examined, Bells."

"And how cheap was this...truck, Dad."

"Oh, not too much," he said in a cryptic sort of manner.

My head turned, so I could study his face as he struggled. "That doesn't help me, Dad."

"Erm, well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you," he confessed, peeking sideways at me as he drove with a gleam of hope in his expression.

I blinked, this time from being stunned. Charlie bought me a car. It sounded too good to be true.

"How much do I owe you, then?"

His mustache wiggled in distaste at the question. "Keep your spending money, I got it for you as a" – he strained for a reason – "homecoming present."

The word felt weird to me, so weird it diminished what joy I had of having a free car. Forks. Home. Those words were like oil and water; but, they didn't weigh me down for long.

"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks," it was all I could say, and it was more than enough to perk up my father.

"I don't mind, you'll be happier to not be cooped up at the house all the time, anyway," he said, looking ahead at the road now that any risk of troubling conversation was out of the way. We both weren't comfortable with expressing our emotions out loud, and when he stopped watching me, I turned my head to look out the window.

"Thanks, Dad, I appreciate it," my reply seemed to make him uncomfortably bashful, as compliments often do to the socially obscure.

"Well, you're welcome," he said simply, albeit, embarrassed by my thanks.

We continued on for the rest of the drive in mutual silence, which wasn't as abhorrent as I imagined it would be. The scenery was beautiful, the tall stretching trees reaching up into the gray clouds and torrential rain above. Even though it had no warmth, no sun, the green had wick, had a vibrancy, that Phoenix didn't have. A world covered in a blanket of moss, canopies of gnarled branches and leafy ferns. Even the air seemed to soak down through the leaves with an aura of green mist.

It was simply too green for me, an alien landscape when one is used to dust and unencumbered sun.

Eventually, the Cruiser arrived to Charlie's house. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother when they first got married. It was there, parked on the street near the mailbox – and to my intense surprise, I loved it. My 'new to me' truck – faded red with large rounded fenders, and a bulbous cab. It had tales to tell, history to whisper of, and even though I had no idea how to drive a truck – I could imagine myself driving it. For a moment, I understood what excited Tim Taylor about Hot Rods. A glimmer of a car buff lurked inside me, and in that moment I had to touch it.

My father was eerily silent, waiting and watching for any kind of abhorrence from me. In the back of my mind, I could feel his eyes on my face; but, I didn't care.

The smile filled me, even if it barely showed on my inexpressive mouth. "Wow, Dad, I love him!"

The car was open and my feet led me to the driver's door before I could hear his reaction. I just held my hands against the rusted paint of the Driver's door. Watching inside the window, which was too wet from the rain to properly see inside. I didn't need to see inside to know the seats had been cleaned and any belongings of Billy Black's had been removed.

The Cruiser door shut, but I didn't look away as my father approached me. "Him?"

The worry in his voice made my stomach knot uncomfortably. "Well, this car kinda feels like a guy, is all." I commented, which was true to me, as this car was so large it reminded me of Red Asphalt. A video warning teenagers to drive safely in Driver's Ed Class, often showing the grueling carnage of vehicular manslaughter in all its brash glory. Watching the truck, I felt like he would be on the side of the road next to whatever foreign car tried to crash into him. A little paint chipped, but otherwise okay. This truck was a moving shield, a modern affordable tank, and I felt safer knowing this beast of a truck was mine.

Beast, that sounded like a good name.

My father, who seemed to think it weird that any person would declare love to a car, awkwardly shrugged beside me. "Well...I'm glad you like him...er, it."

Charlie gruffly walked away, and I could hear him opening the Cruiser's back seat to start carrying my things inside.

Reluctantly, I left the Beast and headed inside.

It only took one trip to get all my belongings upstairs to my bedroom, which had stayed 'my room' since before I was born. As weirdly relieved as I was that he hadn't gotten rid of my twin bed and other things when I stopped coming up here for the Summer, it was a comfort to see a place I was familiar with. The crib had been switched out for a bed and desk when I was too old to be in a crib; but, otherwise the room remained the same. Yellowed lace curtains still hung from the windows, which faced west, toward the front yard. Taking in the wooden floor, the paled blue walls, the peaked ceiling – memories of my childhood filled me.

With one difference, my room was untouched. A secondhand computer, with a phone line for the modem stapled along the floor, greeted me as it sat on my desk. My mom had insisted on my having one, so we could stay in touch more easily with calls being so expensive long-distance.

Sitting down in the rocking chair that remained in the corner from my baby days, my eyes drifted to the hallway. There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, and I tried not to dwell on the fact that I would have to share it with Charlie.

Taking in my room, unchanged after years of gathering time, I was relieved that Charlie didn't check on me now that we were home. He was never one to hover, and it was one of the best things about him. He always left me alone to unpack and get settled in, which was something that was impossible for my mom to do. It was nice to be left alone, not to have to pretend to smile and look pleased; a relief to be able to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let them water unencumbered. I wasn't in the mood to let the tears fall into a crying session; but, it was only a matter of time – days, weeks, hours, before it happened.

Tomorrow I was starting out at Forks High School, home of the Spartans. While it only had a terrifying total of three hundred and fifty-eight students, there were over seven hundred people in my junior class alone back in Phoenix. In the large crowd, you could blend in and disappear if you wanted to. All the kids here had grown up together – hell, their grandparents had probably been toddlers together. I would be the new girl from a big city, a curiosity, maybe even a freak. Maybe, if I looked like a 'normal' girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I wasn't a tan, sporty, blond volleyball player. Nor did I have the charisma to pretend I was ever a cheerleader – all the things that tend to give you away for living in the valley of the sun didn't apply to me. Pale skin, dark brown hair, no muscle mass, and no hand-eye coordination to play any kind of sport without humiliating myself...or worse, harming whoever happened to be standing too close when I tried.

When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of girl's necessities to the bathroom to clean up after a long day of travel. In the mirror, as I brushed my tangled, damp, hair, it was strange to see the person looking back at me. She looked as melancholy as I felt, and maybe it was the light – but I looked malnourished or sallow. In the sun, my skin could be pretty sometimes – it was clear of acne and almost translucent – but it all depended on the color. Here, I had no color and I felt like a specter, a ghost of myself haunting the mirror.

It wasn't so much my appearance that bothered me though, I wasn't unattractive, but if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances of finding something here? I didn't relate well to people my age, or maybe the truth was I just didn't relate well to people in general.

Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me. We were never exactly on the same page, and sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same world that she was. Our worlds and frame of mind were so different, and she would never understand why I needed to be here in Forks. She had Phil now, and when I was there she couldn't be with him as often as she wanted to be. She'd always been like that, flying too close to the sun. Phil was good for her, and he was a nice guy to have as a step-dad, but they needed time to be alone and I didn't want to keep feeling like a third wheel.

In the morning, I awoke with red eyes. Whether it was the constant whooshing of wind and rain against the roof that never faded into the background, or the tears I had shed before exhaustion finally broke me, sleep remained an elusive mayfly. Right now the rain was a quieter drizzle on the roof, and even with knowing I woke up earlier than the alarm, the chances of me going back to sleep were slim.

Thick fog was all I could see outside my window, and the claustrophobia began creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; a gray cage holding you in.

After another shower, breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school, and I thanked him for the thought. Good luck tended to avoid me, and I didn't think my stars would be changing anytime soon. Charlie left soon after, to go to the police station that was his wife and family, now. After I left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three un-matching chairs and examined the small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and linoleum floor.

Nothing had changed.

My mother had painted these cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining living room was a row of pictures. My mom and Charlie looked happy together in Las Vegas. The next photo was one of the three of us in the hospital after I had been born, taken by a helpful nurse, with mom looking happy; but, worn out. He next photos were a progression of my school pictures up until last year's photo, which was embarrassing to look at and I found myself turning those photos of me around or face down so I wasn't staring at myself.

Charlie had never gotten over my mom, and being in this house was a constant reminder of a past I was too small to remember. Trying to think of my parents as a couple just reminded me of arguments and shouting matches, things best put in the back of my mind and left there.

With the photos there, haunting me, I couldn't stand to stay here alone in the house any longer. Donning my olive green parka, which felt more like a bio-hazard suit than a jacket, I headed out into the rain with my school bag.

It was still mildly drizzling, though not enough to soak me through immediately. Keys in my pocket, I rushed through the wet puddles on the way to my new truck, waterproof shoes feeling weird as I wobbled from the front door. In Phoenix, the crunching of gravel was a comforting sensation before school, and my soles missed it.

Inside the truck, however, it was nice and dry. The tan upholstered seats smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint, which was nicer than I had expected the truck to smell. For a few minutes I just breathed it in, turning the car on to get some heat brewing and letting it roar to life.

The Beast was loud, and he purred at full vroom. But, well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. At least the radio worked, a plus I hadn't expected to find, and an oldies rock station was better than listening to the rain when I finally pulled out of the driveway.

Finding Forks High wasn't that difficult, even though I'd never been here before. Almost all things near Forks, it could be found off the highway. However, if not for the large sign, I might not have known it was even a school. It was just a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs around them that I couldn't see how large the school was at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered, with some nostalgia. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors, the security guards patrolling out front by the parking lot?

Parking in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door which read 'front office', I stepped out of the toasty truck cab. No one else had parked near me, so I guessed that this area was off limits for student parking; but, it was better to park here than circle around the parking lot like an idiot. Walking beside a path lined with dark hedges, I paused to take a deep breath before I opened the door.

Inside, the office was brightly lit and warmer than I'd hoped it would be. A little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, and a large clock ticking loudly greeted me. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there simply wasn't enough greenery outside, which made me feel like I could never escape the clustered forest. The small office was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored fliers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was mannered by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.

Eventually, the red-haired woman looked up at me. "Can I help you?"

Now or never, I braced myself as I approached the counter. "Hi, I'm Bella Swan."

She stared at me, as though that was not enough of an explanation for her.

I blinked a reply, and finally she realized who I was. "Oh! Isabella?"

My face burned from embarrassment. "Yeah, Isabella," I corrected, always feeling strange when someone used my full name that I'd almost forgotten to mention it.

Immediate awareness lit up the woman's eyes as she clicked on her mouse and began typing things into her keyboard to pull up my information. I didn't doubt she hadn't heard of me, Chief Swan's long lost daughter, finally coming home to Forks. Probably the best gossip one managed to get around this tight knit community.

"Of course, of course," She said before digging through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk. She kept flipping through paperwork until she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school," she brought several sheets to the counter and set them down in front of me.

With a highlighter pen, the annoying pink kind, she went through my classes for me, highlighting the best routes to each class on the map, and gave me a slip to have each of my teachers sign.

"Just bring that back at the end of the day, Bella," were the last words I payed attention to before I turned away. She had smiled at me with hopeful eyes, the way Charlie had looked at me this morning, that I might like it here in Forks. Smiling back as convincingly as I could, it was gone by the time I reached the door.

Other students were starting to arrive by the time I made it back to my truck, and I drove around the school to follow the line of traffic. At least most of the cars were older like mine, nothing new or flashy. At home, I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot, there. Still, I cut the engine as soon as I found a parking spot, so that the thunderous bellowing of my Beast wouldn't draw extra attention to me.

Alone, I looked at the school map in my truck, trying to memorize it so I wouldn't get too lost before first period. While I hoped I wouldn't have to walk around with my nose stuck into the map all day, it was no doubt another inevitability of my being here.

Stuffing everything I needed back into my bag, slinging it over my shoulder, I took in a deep breath. Sucking the air in and holding it in my lungs so I didn't look like a chipmunk. You can do this, I told myself with more confidence than I felt.

No one was going to bite me, after all.

Finally exhaling, I stepped out of the truck and locked it behind me. Keeping my face pulled back into the hood of my parka, I walked to the sidewalk – which was crowded with teenagers – and hoped my plain black sweater didn't stand out.

Once I moved around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black '3' was painted on a white square on the east corner. Feeling my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation, I approached the door. Holding my breath, my feet followed a pair of raincoats through the doorway.

The classroom was small, smaller than I had imagined it to have been. The people in front of me stopped just outside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks, so I copied them. Choosing a nail on the back edge of the classroom, my eyes darted back out of sheer curiosity to watch the two girls I had followed into the room. One was a porcelain-skinned blond, the other was slightly less pale with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't stand out here, I relished with some relief.

Uncomfortably approaching a balding man I presumed to be the teacher, Mr. Mason, his eyes rose to study my face immediately before he took my slip. The instantaneous gawking he made when he read my name was not an encouraging response, and like anyone who was now being watched by everyone in the room – I could feel my face flush with blood.

To my rescue, Mr. Mason sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the rest of the class. As nice as it was to be there, it didn't stop the other students from turning around to look at me. So, I kept my eyes down and pretended to have more interest in the reading list my teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. Most of which were rather boring to me. I'd already done essays and reports on their work back in Phoenix, and in my head I went over what my mom would say if I asked her to mail me my old essays to turn in. It did not go well, assuming of course my mom could even find where I stored my old papers.

When the bell rang it's loud and nasaly buzzing sound, a gangly boy with acne and black hair leaned across the aisle to talk to me.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like he belonged in the Chess club, or something.

"Just Bella," I corrected, and unfortunately everyone in a three-seat radius turned to look at my face.

"Where's your next class?"

I had to tug the map back out of my bag to check before I could answer. "Um, Government in Building Six, with Jefferson?"

There was nowhere to look that wasn't filled with curious eyes, so I kept watching my hands.

"I'm headed to building four, I can show you the way, if you want," He asked, far too helpful and obliging for my comfort zone. "I'm Eric," he added, and I could feel my mouth torn between a smile and a grimace from unease.

"Thanks," I muttered before standing up.

Walking back to the row of wet coats, I picked out my olive jacket and slid it back on before we headed into the rain – which had gone from a drizzle to wet and sloppy droplets. It may have been the constant battering of rain against the top of my hood, but it felt like there were several people behind us walking close enough to eavesdrop, and to be honest I worried of being paranoid.

Realizing I wasn't going to initiate a conversation, Eric began to prattle on. "So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?"

The question was so obvious it hurt. "Very."

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

My time here was doomed if rain was the only thing these people could talk about. "No, not really. Couple times."

Eric looked genuinely awed, which made it worse. "Wow, what must that be like?"

"Um, sunny," I tried to smile, but in my heart I knew it was a grimace.

"Huh, you don't look very tan."

Great, I'm being rescued by captain obvious. "I must be part albino."

Eric studied my face apprehensively as we walked, and I quietly sighed under my breath. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix well. A few months of this and I might even forget how to use sarcasm altogether.

Poor guy didn't get it, until I blurted out an awkward laugh and he realized I was joking.

"Oh, sorry, I just thought everyone in Phoenix was really tan."

"Nah, I just roast," I said honestly.

He laughed, I guess he thought this was another one of my 'weird jokes'. We walked in silence the rest of the way around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. He walked me right to the door, even though it was clearly marked.

"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the door handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together?" He sounded so hopeful, and I felt bad that my stomach could only cringe in response.

Smiling as best I could fake, I waved lightly before turning to head inside.

The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, was the only professor to make me stand in front of the classroom and introduce myself. If that wasn't a reason enough to dislike him, trigonometry was the worst class I could think of besides P.E, and now I had even more reasons to not want to be in here.

Stammering, blushing, and flopping when I almost tripped several times back to my seat, I just spent the rest of the class with my book held up in front of my face. Just, waiting to die, I guess.

After two more classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. As much as I tried to be diplomatic, lies and grimace-smiles were the only kindness I could muster. At least I never needed the map again, people seemed to like escorting the fresh meat around.

One girl, who sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five foot six inches; but, her wildly curly dark hair made up for the difference in our heights. Bad as I felt to admit it to myself, her name escaped me. Doing my best to smile and nod as she prattled on about teachers and classes, I didn't try and keep up with the conversation.

After the long line to get something for lunch, we sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends. She introduced me to all of them, immediately; but, I couldn't retain them longer than about three seconds. They seemed impressed by her bravery in trying to adopt the introvert, and Eric waved at me from across the lunchroom.

It was all so overwhelming, and while I was grateful that so many were trying to make me feel welcome, all the new faces and thousand questions drowned me.

Desperate to avoid being roped into a larger conversation, my eyes strayed to other tables, ones more empty or distant from the one I had been led to. It was there, feigning interest in trying to respond to seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting together in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them, and they weren't talking or eating, even though each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They were the only ones not gawking at me, they didn't seem to notice or care that I was here.

It was refreshing, and I felt safe to stare at them without fear of meeting another excessively interested pair of eyes.

It was none of these comforts that caught, and held, my attention. They didn't look anything alike, for starters. One of the two boys was huge – muscled like a weight lifter, with dark, curly, hair. The other was taller; but, slender. Lean with honey blond hair.

The girls were the opposites, which was fascinating to me. The tallest girl was so statuesque, she had a model's figure, the kind that made every girl in the room feel a blow to their self esteem. I half expected her to be in a cheerleader's uniform; but, she was too resigned a posture to make me think she would want to be one. Her hair was her crown, a rich and golden wave that ended at the middle of her back.

Beside her, a shorter girl reminded me of Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell – only her hair was black instead of red. She was so slender, like she had been plucked from a French foreign film and set down at the table impeccably dressed. Short pixie hair vibrant with life and pointing elegantly in every direction that framed her face.

Still, my attention wasn't held, because there was one other girl seated beside the pixie-haired fairy. She had bronze hair, dark eyes, and she looked more tomboyish than the others. She was lanky when compared to the blond Athena; but, she was so poised and for whatever reason, she was radiant.

Despite all these differences, they were ironically alike. Every one of them was a chalky, pale, color to their skin. The palest of all the students I had seen today who were living in this sunless town. Paler than me, even, which was not something I saw very often. They all had dark eyes, despite their range in hair tones. Dark shadows, purplish like faint bruises, rested under their eyes. As if all of them were suffering from a sleepless night, or nearly recovered from broken noses. For the first, a sleepless night might explain their silence. For the second, their noses – nay, all their features – looked too perfect, straight, or angular, to make me think they had broken their noses.

Even this, strange as it is, was not why I couldn't look away.

I stared because all of their faces – so different and similar – were all devastatingly, inhumanly, beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see outside of purposefully airbrushed fashion covers. I would sooner have believed that they were cut out sheets painted by Michealangelo and held up to look like students than that they were real.

It was impossible to tell who was the most beautiful; but, my eyes kept sliding back and forth between the blond and the bronze-haired girl who was partially blocked from view.

They were all looking away – away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As if they all decided to just sit there and daydream, or they could sleep with their eyes open. As I watched, the small fairy rose with her tray – unopened soda, unbitten apple, and walked away with a quick, graceful, loop. Ballet feet in shoes I couldn't see moved toward the trash cans to dump her tray and pause.

She stayed, as though looking past the crowd during an opera performance, and almost looked in my direction before she glided – floated – out the door. Glancing back to the others, it amazed me that they had not moved, despite the departure of their friend.

Unable to resist my curiosity any longer, I reached out to touch the arm of the girl from my Spanish class. She stopped listening to her friend to look at me with curious eyes, and it was all the incentive I needed.

"Who are they?" I asked, gently pointing toward the table.

She looked up for a fraction of a second, enough to tell where I was pointing to, before she lost interest and focused on her sandwich long enough to take a bite out of it.

"Those are the Cullen's. Dr. Cullen and his wife's foster kids," she whispered, once she had swallowed that bite of sandwich.

Foster kids, I thought quietly to myself, unable to wrap my head around it. The girl next to me took this as her moment to explain more, and did so with a quietly bashful look. "That one that left, her name is Alice. The boys are Emmett" – she pointed to the weight lifter – "and Jasper," the lithe blond boy with his thick blond locks was gestured to.

"I wish they weren't all...dating," she said with morose.

That comment just raised too many questions. "Dating?"

She nodded to me, setting down her sandwich. "Yeah, they all live together, it's weird. Rumor is that Dr. Cullen is some kind of matchmaker, but my friend Josie has seen Emmett and Rosalie kiss before class sometimes, and Alice and Jasper hold hands and cuddle all the time."

My attention was drawn to the girl with bronze hair, and held there with some strange sinking feeling in my stomach. "Is that Rosalie?"

She followed my finger to the girl who was looking down at her tray, picking a bagel to pieces with her long, pale, fingers. Her mouth was moving very quickly, her perfect lips were barely opening. Was she mumbling to herself? The other three were still looking away, out the window, daydreaming; I couldn't guess.

Sandwich girl responded with a giggle. "No, that's Emmett's sister, Edythe," she said with amusement before she took another bite from her meal.

For whatever reason I had no appetite. Maybe it was being in the same room with Zeus' long lost children, or I just didn't feel comfortable eating around a giant group of people, but my stomach was in knots. It twisted and churned, like a slow-spin washing machine turning delicates. Their names didn't seem odd to me at the time, true they were old names; but, there were worse names I'd heard of and a lot of kids were named after their grandparents.

If not for one of the other girls at my table saying it, I wouldn't have remembered that sandwich girl was named Jessica. A name that was easy enough to remember, one could hope.

"Do they...always look so..." I didn't know what to say, I just trailed off.

"It's insane how good they look," Jessica agreed with another giggle. All the condemnation of her earlier statements had begun to leave her voice.

"But, if Jasper or Emmett – weren't – off the market, who would you go for?"

The question unsettled me, so much so that I blinked. "I don't know..."

Jessica chuckled again. "Come on, it's a fun game."

Her insistence in noticing the boys made it worse, for some reason. "I didn't really think about it. They're both good looking, though."

Jessica sighed as she tilted her head playfully at me. "Well, you're no fun, but if you make up your mind, tell me."

Desperate to change the subject from 'love interests' and flirting, I tried to say the least sexy question on my mind. "So, they're not really related? Or..."

She nodded. "Pfft, no way. Dr. Cullen is pretty young – early thirties if you can even imagine him being that old. But, they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's like Edythe, Alice, and Emmett's aunt or something? I don't know all the history."

"That's really kind of her, to take care of all of them like that, did something bad happen with their parents?"

"I guess," Jessica said with some reluctance, and I got the impression that she didn't like Dr. Cullen or his wife for some reason. With all the glances she was throwing at the adopted children, I could only guess she was feeling some kind of jealousy. A vibe that made me very uncomfortable to be around, so I gently pushed my try away from me to not have the smell of food in my nose. "I think Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, anyway."

While I thought that only added to the kindness of Mrs. Cullen's loving heart, I felt like if I mentioned it verbally, Jessica's jealous nature, or annoyance, would grow. A can of worms I didn't want to risk opening, tonight.

"So, have they always lived in Forks?" I asked, surely I would have noticed the on one of my summers here.

"No," Jessica said in a harsher tone than she might have meant, as if I had asked a stupid question. "They moved down two years ago, from somewhere in Alaska."

A surge of pity and relief filled me. Pity, because as beautiful as they were – they were outsiders who were clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting newcomer by anyone's standards.

Examining all of them, each different work of art, my eyes fell to the bronze-haired Cullen. Her fingers were still tearing apart the bagel with no interest in eating it, and I felt like she had artist's hands, but she was too far away for me to say that with any degree of certainty.

This time; however, the girl looked up and for a moment I felt like her eyes bore into my soul. Evident curiosity in her expression as she gazed across the tables back at me. I don't know what it was, a pull, an undertow, but I couldn't bear to look into her eyes when she watched me. I could feel her watching me, even as I looked down at my hands.

If ever there was a reason to sink into a table and disappear, now would have been the perfect time. I don't know if I blushed or paled, the sting to my face burned and froze, and I found myself listless and dizzy.

Desperate for Jessica to remain oblivious to my social awkwardness, I pressured myself into asking more. "W-Who is that girl with the reddish-bronze hair dating?"

I peeked with the corner of my eye to see if she was still watching me, and she was still staring with those piercing, lioness, eyes. This time she looked frustrated, as though I had in some way insulted her by not holding eye-contact. In fear, my eyes darted down again.

"Who, Edythe? She's the only one who doesn't have a boyfriend," Jessica said, with some relief. "I guess none of the boys here are good enough for her, which just leaves more for us, huh?" she leaned in with a cheshire smile and playfully poked me with her elbow.

"Urm, yeah. Sure, Jessica."

It felt strange to feel elated that Edythe didn't have a boyfriend, even if I couldn't put my finger on why at the time. Someone who doesn't have a boyfriend has time to do whatever they want to do, and I thought that maybe if she was single she might have time to make friends.

I don't know why I cared so much that Edythe have a friend, maybe because her siblings had someone to share their pain with and she didn't. It was rare in my life that someone had both a lover and a best friend. One or the other was the way it went, at least for my mom.

Unable to stop myself, I flicked my eyes up to sneak another glance at Edythe. Her face was turned away from me now; but, it looked as though her cheek was lifted. I hoped she was smiling, even if the likelihood of her smiling because of me was slim.

After a few more minutes of watching Edythe and her family, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful – even the big, brawny, Emmett moved with some measure of ease. I found it unsettling to watch. Edythe didn't look at me again before she left; but, that didn't stop me from watching her until I couldn't see her anymore.

Sitting with Jessica and her friends for longer than I usually sat down during lunch when I was alone, I began to feel incredibly restless. Anxiety filled me, and I could only reason I could pin it on was that I didn't want to risk being late for my next class. One of my new acquaintances, who reminded me constantly that her name was Angela, had Biology with me for the next period.

When I stood, Angela stood too, and any hope I had of catching another glimpse of Edythe and her family outside was dashed. Thankfully, she was shy, and we walked in comfortable silence together.

When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table with her lab partner, and I felt some comfort that these lab tables looked to be the same kind I had used in Phoenix. The comfort didn't last, as all the seats were taken, except one. Glancing across the room which had quickly filled up, the only seat left in the class made my heart race and my pulse quicken.

Next to the center aisle, Edythe Cullen sat beside the window, scribbling something that looked like random dots or doodles on an expensive looking notebook. Even though she hadn't noticed me, yet, a strange sort of panic filled me at the idea of being so close to her.

Unsure of my mouth was more dry or wet, the lump in my throat nearly suffocating me, I turned as quietly as I could and nearly pummeled into the teacher's desk. The sound wasn't very loud, but it was enough to make my wide eyes flit in her direction to see if she noticed my clumsiness. My side throbbed, but I didn't feel it until later.

Edythe had become rigid in her seat, and her eyes were no longer on her notebook. She was staring at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest bewildered expression on her face – she looked hostile, furious, and it terrified me. If it was possible to turn away from her venom faster without bumping my knee into the table, I would have. My knee and side throbbed now, and my teacher had nothing but humor and pity for me when I finally managed to hand him my slip for him to sign. Fingers shaking so badly that I worried the form would slide right out of my hand when he handed it back to me.

Everything burned, from pain or embarrassment, I couldn't tell anymore. It wasn't just my knee or side that ached, my chest ached; I barely breathed, my stomach throbbed.

"Woah, there, are you alright?" The teacher asked.

My reply was hidden under the laughter of students behind me. "Yeah, fine."

The sheet was handed back to me after my teacher signed it, and all hope of saving face was lost when he pointed behind me...towards Edythe.

"Have a seat, Ms. Swan," he said, and while I turned and looked around like a boat lost at sea, there was still only one seat open. The one beside Edythe; the one beside the girl who for reasons unknown hated me.

Was it because I had been watching her at lunch? Didn't everyone watch her? Was I ugly? Did I have something in my nose?

Nearly tripping over a book that some girl had haphazardly left in the middle aisle between tables, I pretended not to hear the laughter as I stood and sat down beside Edythe. Avoiding her face for one long, terrible, minute before I turned my head to peek at her and see if she was still glaring at me.

She was...and I noticed something else. Her eyes, they were black – coal black.

Glancing away, bewildered by the antagonistic stare she bore into me, I felt a stir in the table we shared. In the corner of my eye, I saw her posture change. She was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of her chair; averting her face. As though I reeked and she couldn't stand how badly I smelled. Concerned, I hunched lower to try and breathe in the smell of my own hair; bergamot, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor, though, citrus and earthy.

Had I offended her at lunch? When she caught me staring at her? Was there food on my teeth? New acne I hadn't noticed? Not really the type to carry around make up or mini-purse mirrors, I had no means to check my face; but, the question haunted me.

Mr. Banner started the lesson without the need to introduce me to the rest of the class. The lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I already knew from my last Biology teacher, and with nothing new to engage my mind I felt myself look back over at Edythe. Seeing her through the curtain of my hair that I had let fall over my face, she kept looking out the window. Leaning against the glass, unwilling to be bothered by me.

For the entire lecture, she never moved. No more notes were made, and her notebook that I had seen earlier must have vanished into her bag shortly after she had glared at me. When I managed to look down from notes, I saw that her hand was balled into a fist; tendons standing out underneath her pale skin. She was so angry, and I had never noticed how athletic her forearm was. Long white sleeves pulled up to her elbows, she looked on edge, like she wanted to reach out and punch someone for making her sit next to the new kid.

She wasn't nearly as slender as I'd thought she looked earlier, next to her burly brother and pixie-haired sister. Captivated, the class seemed to go on for longer than an hour. Maybe because I kept hoping that her fist would loosen, she would relax, and maybe just casually ignore me than the constant dismissal her vehemence portrayed. Was she always like this around new people? Doubts of Jessica's earlier resentment rose up in my head – maybe she wasn't as prejudiced as I thought…

Surely whatever it was that was bothering her couldn't have been about me. She didn't know me, everyone had to stare at her once in a while – why would that bother her so much? Maybe she was just going through something and she'd be better tomorrow? Daring fate, I moved my hair behind my ear to look over at her face and instantly regretted it.

Her eyes were daggers set to kill, and even though I flinched and scooted my chair away from her, it wasn't enough. Her look was too intense, and I couldn't bear to watch her face anymore. Hair falling in a curtain over my face again, I added my left hand to further protect my face from being offensive to the other while my right hand scribbled notes on the lecture which I could care less about.

Under the weight of her hateful eyes, the bell finally rang, and I jumped up in my chair from surprise. Startled by the sound, I looked up to see Edythe was out of her chair. Moving fluidly around the table, overwhelming me with how tall she was when I was shriveled in the chair, she was out the door before anyone else had a chance to get out of their seat.

Numb; stunned into silence, I stared blankly after the spot I had last seen Edythe. Morose at the absence of her presence from the room, even as the anger of how she treated me filled me with contempt.

What the hell was her problem? Why was she so pissed off at me?

Why the hell did I care...

With the eloquence of a zombie, I started gathering my things and sliding my books back into my backpack; trying desperately to block out the anger before it consumed me. Whenever I was this pissed off, my eyes had a horrible tendency to water up. My temper was hard-wired to my tear-ducts; something I inherited from my mother. As humiliating as it was, I usually wept when I was angry, and my eyes burned as they welled up.

Now that she was gone, my eyes were going into overdrive. I barely saw through them as I shoved books and pens into my bag, hoping I didn't miss and spill my pens all over the floor as I did so.

A male voice from behind me startled me. "Are you Isabella Swan?"

Not turning around, as I could feel my eyes watering, I just nodded and gave him an awkward 'thumbs up' gesture so I didn't have to turn and face him. Hiding like a coward behind my brown curtain.

"I'm Mike," He started to say, and I felt horror tug at my stomach when his footsteps approached me. Oh God, this was horrible, and I found myself speechless for fear of my voice sounding watery.

Unfortunately, he noticed without my needing to wobble out any words. "Woah, are you okay?"

Great, now I had to talk. "Yeah, I'm fine."

My words were a lie, and maybe he sensed it. "You sure?"

Looking up, Mike was a classically handsome boy with pale blond hair, and he was smiling at me with such gentle eyes. It was such a stark contrast from the hatred in Edythe's face that it reassured me. He clearly didn't think I smelled bad, or that I was annoying.

Wiping under my eyes, which thankfully started to dry out from the encouragement, I nodded to him. "I'm fine," I reassured before outstretching my hand. "Bella."

His shoulders relaxed, and he smiled at me in a friendly way. "Do you need any help finding your next class?"

So many helpful students here, it almost made my head spin. "I'm headed to gym, I think I can find the big building okay," I said with an awkward laugh.

He seemed thrilled at this, and his smile turned into a full-blown grin. "That's my next class, too," he said as though it was a huge coincidence to be in the same class in a school this small.

Walking out of the classroom together, I realized too late that Mike was a chatterbox. On the plus side of things, he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me to nod along. He'd lived in California since he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. He was also in my English class earlier, and he was the nicest and most easy going person I'd met today.

As we were about to enter the Gym; though, he asked: "So...did you, like, stab Edythe Cullen with a pencil or something?"

My eyes widened, a knot formed in my throat when her name hit my ears.

His eyes filled with curiosity. "I've never seen her act like that."

My mouth tugged into a cringe, downcast that I wasn't the only person that noticed our exchanges. Torn between admitting to having been staring at her, or playing dumb, I went with the latter.

"Is that the girl who sat next to me in Biology?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "She looked like she was in pain or something."

I could tell he was trying to ask why I had been tearing up, and going about it in a roundabout way, but I pretended not to notice. "I don't know why she would be, we've never said a word to each other."

Mike shook his head, shrugging it off with a sort of dopey look on his face. "She's a weird girl," he said, with what looked like a subtle tilt of resentment buried in the corner of his mouth. "If I was lucky enough to have sat by you, I'd have talked to you."

As other students were heading for the locker rooms, Mike stayed beside me, and it was starting to make the other students stare at us. Unnerved by the eyes on me, I could only afford to send Mike a smile before I walked through the door to the girl's locker room. Clearly he was friendly, and that was really nice; but, once he was gone the anger returned to me. Irritation boiled under my skin – she had been acting weird.

So she -did- have a problem with me. What the hell was it?

Approaching Coach Clapp with my stupid slip, he signed it and found me a uniform to wear, all while I continued to brood over Biology. Why did her hatred bother me? I'd been disliked before and I got over it easily enough. The question never left my head, even as I found myself in my own personal hell.

Gym was not a class for the uncoordinated, and I had hoped my time in Gym was over. In Phoenix, the requirement was just two years of Gym. Here, you had to take it all four years. Nausea filled me, even though I didn't have to dress down in front of the other girls today. Courtesy of being able to go home and wash my gym clothes.

Whether it was the anger I felt, or watching four volleyball games running simultaneously, my good luck seemed to have waned. The last time I played volleyball, I sustained bruises and injures and caused pain to the students next to me. What friends I was making, including Mike who waved at me from time to time, were doomed as soon as I was asked to play sports.

The final bell finally rang, and I walked hurriedly to the office to return my slip and other paperwork to the office secretary. While the rain had drifted away, the wind was strong and cold. Wrapping my arms around myself did very little to keep the chill from shivering through me.

Eager to walk into the warm and toasty office, my relief vanished and I almost walked right back out into the wind.

Edythe Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized her by that tousled bronze hair and poised body posture. She didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance, but even so I moved to stand pressed as far into the back wall as I could. All I needed to do was pass the time until the receptionist was free and pray that she didn't notice I was here and glare at me again.

Leaning against the wall, I could hear Edythe arguing with the secretary in her soft, alto, voice.

"Surely there must be another class I can take, or switch out," She asked in exasperation.

The redheaded secretary sighed as she went over the schedule. "I'm very sorry, Ms. Cullen, but I can't swap out Biology in sixth period for third period, Mrs. Russet only teaches Advanced English in third period, you would have to drop out of your gifted class," she explained with as comforting a tone as possible.

"What about...switching to home schooled classes?"

I stared at the back of Edythe's head; flabbergasted. This couldn't be about me – why would it? I didn't do anything to her! My brain couldn't wrap about the idea that someone could have a reason to harbor such a sudden, intense, dislike for me.

"That is something to discuss with your parents, Ms. Cullen, but we don't offer a homeschool program."

The Secretary furrowed her brows as Edythe's hands bunched into fists again. For a moment, I thought she would punch a hole in the counter.

The door opened, cold wind snapped into the room in the form of a violent chilling gust that made me shrink deeper into my wrapped arms. The girl who came in merely stepped up to the desk, set a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But, it was enough of a distraction for Edythe to turn her head to look at the girl who was walking toward the door.

In the process, her black eyes found me, and we both visibly stiffened. Her, from disgust. Myself, from fear.

Her face was so striking that I couldn't tear my eyes away from them. If not for her piercing – hate filled – eyes, the urge to keep staring into them might have made it impossible for me to look away from her face. The hair on my arms rise when the fear hit me, and even though she looked at me for only a few seconds, it chilled me more than the freezing wind.

Edythe turned back toward the receptionist. "I see, I shall just have to endure it…" She said hastily, her voice flowing from her lips like liquid velvet. "Good day."

She turned on her heel, without another look at me, and disappeared out the front door with the same ghostly grace she had used to escape me earlier.

Stepping meekly toward the desk, my face starch white and cold instead of red, the slip was tugged from my pocket and set down on the counter.

The secretary seemed to be genuinely happy to see me. "How did your first day go, dear?"

"Fine," I lied, surprised by how weak my voice was. She did not look convinced, but had the wisened experience not to inquire further.

For her, the paperwork was turned in and sorted into the computer by hand and life went on. For me, I felt numb and detached. Lost for how someone could hate me so much. By the time I made it back to my truck, it was one of the last ones in the lot.

My feet couldn't walk fast enough to make it back to the haven my truck had become. Once inside, I locked the doors out of sheer habit, and sank defeatedly into the long bench-like seat. Curled up into a ball from the events of the long day reoccurring over and over in my head.

Why did I care if she liked me, why did it hurt that she hated me so much? Not understanding what overwhelmed me so, when my truck felt too cold to remain inside without the heater on, I sat up and turned the key.

Engine roaring to life, I didn't play the radio again. I didn't want to listen to anything that could cheer me up; my heart throbbed like it had been bludgeoned, and I fought tears the entire way back to Charlie's house.


	3. Chapter Two - Snow

_Thank you for being patient with me, I had a lot of work to catch up on, but I am finally done with chapter two! I added a few special things~ Including a cut-scene of Bella and Alice, and added more depth to Edythe and Bella's first conversation. Enjoy the changes! I have no idea how much I'm going to change, but I guess I'm changing a whole hell of a lot._

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

The next day the clouds were dense and opaque, but the lack of rain barely cheered me. It felt easier to go to school knowing what to expect, at least. Mike took a shine to me as soon as I walked into English class – talking to me incessantly, walking me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him the entire time.

It was obvious to me that, for some reason, both Eric and Mike had some kind of crush on me. Why, I had no idea, but it made me feel like a shiny new toy. Sometimes I saw a few girls watching me with narrowed eyes, but it could have been my imagination. Surely Mike had other friends to talk to, right?

It was a relief that people didn't look at me quite so wide-eyed as they had yesterday. Things even went rather smoothly, at least until lunch.

When the bell for lunch rang, it knotted a large hole in my stomach. Edythe would probably be in the cafeteria, and the idea of seeing that pure burn of hatred rattled me to my core. Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I vaguely remembered helped me feel more safe and hidden. Just another face in the crowd.

All morning I had dreaded lunch, fearing her bizarre glares, and Edythe Cullen wasn't there. A part of me wanted to confront her, and demand to know what her problem us. Lying restless in bed last night, I had thought of a thousand different things I could say as I stared up at the ceiling. Even decided that if I had to, I would write a note and pass it to her in Biology whether she wanted to read it or not.

Edythe wasn't in the cafeteria, and despite barely eating and expecting her to breeze through the door, she didn't. The four siblings were sitting together at the same table though, not eating, looking out the window, or reading some kind of book, talking amongst each other. Edythe didn't show, and it bothered me. Bothered me too much – half my lunch was left untouched.

Mike had led us to his favorite table, near the one from yesterday, which hid me better from where Edythe could have seen me at the old one. Jessica seemed to glow like a star by the attention, and it was altogether too obvious that Jessica really liked Mike. Mike, Jessica, and her friends were all chatting a mile a minute, but I could barely focus on what any of them said.

Edythe wasn't here, which meant she probably wasn't going to be in Biology either. I hoped that she would show up, because if she just ignored me than it meant I wasn't the reason she was so repulsed and aggravated. I thought I could feel Mike watching me, trying to look where I was glancing toward, but I pretended not to notice.

Far too tense by the time lunch ended, Mike walked with me to Biology like I was a tennis ball and he was a golden retriever. He tried to talk about books or movies I liked, but the subject held no interest to me. Feeling safe, that she might not be in class today, confidence and fear filled me as I stopped by the door and looked into our Biology classroom.

Edythe wasn't there, and for some reason anger filled me. She had to be a coward, if she was ditching school because of me. It was harder to deny that the reason was me, and I felt my hand knot up into a ball before I walked to my seat. Staring absentmindedly at the empty chair next to me as if I expected the girl to just magically appear when I turned my head for a moment. I knew it was ridiculous, even egotistical, to think that -I- was important enough to bother someone I had never met before that badly.

When the school day was over, and the horror of accidentally bopping a Volleyball into another student's head faded the flush of embarrassment from my face, I was relieved to make it back to my truck. Relieved still further because I had successfully managed to get out of the girl's locker room before Mike had a chance to find me and swoop me in with conversation and attention.

Digging through my backpack once I was safely in my truck, my home away from home, my hands filed through the zipper compartments to make sure I had everything I needed. To my horror, I realized that Charlie didn't cook very many things besides eggs and bacon. Or wouldn't cook anything otherwise, if he could cook anything else.

If I was going to survive Forks, I'd need to do the cooking, and he consented to my request to be put on kitchen detail. One distraction from the disappointing school day to ease my mind. Even though I wasn't someone who ate very much, cooking was soothing to me. Since I was old enough to cook without burning things, I'd done the cooking for my mom, and not having anyone to cook for made me feel anxious.

As soon as my hand found the grocery store list and some I'd folded into it nestled into a hidden pocket, relief washed over my face.

Gunning the Beast's deafening engine to life, ignoring the many heads that turned to look at my truck's roar of life, I backed as carefully as I could into the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. While I waited, trying to pretend that the ear-splitting rumbled growl was coming from someone else's car, I saw the two Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their own car.

Of course it was a shiny new Volvo, the fanciest car I'd seen in the lot. Too mesmerized by their faces thus far, I realized that everything they owned or wore was expensive-looking or exceptional in some way. To be honest, with their remarkably good looks, the style to which they carried themselves, they could have worn a t-shirt made of dish rags and still pulled it off. For some reason it seemed too excessive to me for them to have looks -and- money. Resentment filled me, maybe because I knew that Edythe had that life of luxury as well.

Not that it mattered, it didn't look as though their finery or good looks bought them any acceptance here. If that was even what they wanted, I couldn't see a good reason why they would not be well liked if they wanted to be. The four of them turned their head when my truck came toting by their car, and I sharply moved my eyes to not be swamped in embarrassment.

Unable to resist, I peeked, and the short-haired fairy with inky black hair was watching me.

Keeping my eyes forward then, to not meet any of their direct gazes and piss them off like I had Edythe, relief flooded through me when I could finally escape the parking lot.

The 'Thriftway' grocery store was not very far from school, just a few streets south, off the freeway. It felt safe, cozy, to be inside a supermarket again; it felt so blissfully normal. Since I did all the shopping back at home, it was easy to fall into the same pattern of completing familiar tasks. The store was large enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me I was still in Forks.

Sometimes I felt like someone was watching me, though, and while that was disconcerting I never actually saw anyone doing it to have a reason to be concerned.

When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries. Stuffing items wherever I could find an open space, with slightly more organization than the mess my father had left it. When most of the groceries were put away, I washed my hands and wrapped potatoes in tin foil, sticking the into the oven to bake. Covering a steak in marinade, I balanced that on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge to soak for a while.

Only when that relaxing project was finished did I take my book-bag upstairs. There was homework I had to focus on; but, first I needed to write an email to my mom. The whole situation yesterday had made me forget to do it, and I knew she'd probably have sent a bunch of emails from worry at my lack of quick responses.

Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I clicked open my email to find three messages.

"Bella," my mom wrote…

Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida; but, I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi. - Mom'.

The next email was sent eight hours after the first one. I sighed, they were all named 'Bella' as a subject and I knew she was overreacting before I even opened the other messages.

"Bella," she wrote…

If I haven't heard back from you by 5:30 I'm calling Charlie."

Glancing at the clock, I knew I still had an hour; but, my mom was known for jumping the gun, so I clicked on 'reply' and started typing back to her.

"Mom," I began to write.

Calm down, I just got home from school. Don't do anything silly. - Bella."

Clicking 'Send', I typed 'reply' a second time to give a reply to all the details she had asked for in her first email.

"Mom,

Everything is going great. When -isnt- it raining? I was waiting to reply til I had something to talk about. School isn't bad, just repetitive. They're a year behind me in Biology so I'm pretending to learn. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch. Your blouse is at the dry cleaners – you were supposed to pick it up last Friday.

Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe that? I actually love it, though it's super old and loud and all the kids stare at me. Study and safe though, so don't worry about me. I miss you, too. I'll write you again soon, but don't expect me to check my email every five minutes either. Relax. Breathe. I love you."

Changing into loose pants and a more comfortable t-shirt, Wuthering Heights – a required reading book from my English Class – was tugged out of my book bag. Honestly, it wasn't the first time I had read it. I'd read it before for sheer enjoyment, so it was nice to have a reason to read it over a second time.

Which was what I was doing when Charlie came home. I'd lost track of time, and based on the smell filtering upstairs, I almost burned the potatoes…

"Bella?" My father called out when he heard me thump downstairs.

"Hey, Dad," my reply was short, I barely saw him hang up his gun belt and step out of his boots as I bustled into the kitchen. When I came here to visit as a child, he would always remove the bullets from his gun as soon as he walked in the door, and I imagined he would do so now.

Moving the steak into the broiler and taking the potatoes out before they were charred beyond repair. The smell was worse than it was, and the potatoes seemed to be okay once I used silverware to unwrap them from foil.

"What's for dinner?" he asked warily, and it made me feel a bit self-conscious to be put on the spot with burnt smell in the air.

"Steak and potatoes," my reply seemed to set him at ease, and I couldn't help but wonder if he had been worried my taste in food took after mom. She was always trying to cook exotic dishes creatively fashioned, that looked far better than they tasted. Sometimes we made even made orange curry together; but, these were things my dad didn't like. Which, if I was honest with myself, was one of the perks of being here.

"Do you need any help?" He asked tentatively, looking a bit awkward just standing there doing nothing.

"Uh, sure, Dad. Can you warm some butter from the fridge?"

He moved on autopilot to open the fridge door and blink at how full the fridge was. Not knowing where the butter was anymore, he glanced around for almost three minutes. Comical as it might be, mercy demanded I scoot past him to open the little butter drawer in the door and point at the box of butter sticks.

He took one of the sticks out of the box and went to find a plate, and I took that time to grab the bag of pre-made, pre-washed, salad and toss it into two soup-bowls.

Dad moved behind me in the kitchen, the microwave closed, and buttons were pressed. After that, I think Charlie realized there was nothing for him to do, and he sauntered off to the living room to go watch TV while I finished up.

The silence was relaxing, it never felt awkward when we both had things to do, only when the pressure of talking lingered in the room.

When dinner was ready, Charlie turned off the television and walked back into the kitchen.

"Smells good, Bells."

With an awkward smile, I went to sit and we ate in silence for a few minutes. Neither of us were bothered by the quiet, and I guess in some ways we were well suited for living together.

What I didn't expect was for Charlie to talk, so when he did, my mouth curled into a grimace.

"So, how do you like the high school? Have you made any friends?"

"Everybody seems pretty nice," I replied, but as he kept looking at me I fished for more details. "I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica, um...there's this guy named Mike who'se super friendly."

"Ah, that sounds like Mike Newton?" I nodded, and he continued. "His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. They make good money living off of all the backpackers who come through here."

When I didn't say anything, just kept eating, he continued on. "He's a nice boy – nice family," he paused, and I could feel him watching me. "Do you 'like' Mike Newton?"

My appetite died, was he really asking me about boys? "He's nice, been a good friend to me."

I could tell Charlie wanted to ask more; but, he didn't know how to formulate the words...so I spoke before he did, and tried to change the subject quickly.

"Um, do you know the Cullens? The Cullen family?" My voice rang out so hesitantly I felt like I floated above my body.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure, I know them," he said between bites of potatoes. "Why do you ask?"

"I...noticed the Cullens are a little...different. They don't seem to fit in very well."

My father surprised me, his face was reddened, and he sliced his slate with more gusto than it needed.

"It's a bit strange for a couple to adopt older teens, much less five of them, but they're all very mature and polite. I admit, I had my doubts when their family moved in, but they've never caused any trouble. Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon, who could probably make ten times the salary he gets here. We're lucky his wife wanted to live in a small town, they're an asset to the community. It's perfectly fine to be a...little peculiar," Charlie paused, to take another bite of potatoes.

I fumbled my fork through what was left of my food, surprised by the long speech my father had made. It was probably even the longest speech he'd ever made about something that I could remember hearing, and that in itself unsettled me. Clearly he felt strongly about the Cullens, and clearly he must be used to people saying negative things about them.

"I just noticed they tend to keep to themselves at school...and they're all very attractive."

Charlie laughed, heartily. "You should see their parents. It's a good thing they're happily married. I hear a lot of the nurses have trouble concentrating on their work when Dr. Cullen is on duty."

Whatever I had planned on asking about escaped me, so I just smiled as the small-talk faded back into silence. After we both did the dishes, by hand as we didn't have a dishwasher, I went upstairs to work on my math homework.

I could feel a tradition in the making, and it felt nice to have some semblance of normalcy back.

With no rain that night, I fell asleep almost instantly once I hit the bed.

The rest of the week helped me settle into the routine of my classes, and by Friday I was able to recognize – if not by name – almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball, and to step in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my lack of hand-eye coordination. Rather than make me feel unwanted, it relieved me.

Every day, I anxiously watched until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria, and every day – Edythe wasn't there.

Where did she go? Did she transfer to being home schooled? Was I really such a big problem for her? These questions haunted me, even after I ate. Maybe it was for the best she wasn't here, and I should really just stop wondering about her.

So by Friday, I was perfectly comfortable entering Biology class, no longer worried that Edythe would be there. She wasn't, and it was nice having the two-person lab desk to myself. But I couldn't shake the gnawing feeling that she would be here if I wasn't...so repulsive to her.

My days were blending together, and here I was – still worrying about Edythe Cullen.

My first weekend in Forks passed by without any incidents. Charlie wasn't used to spending time in an empty house, so he worked on the weekends. With the house to myself, I got ahead on my homework, wrote ridiculously cheerful emails to my mom, and even felt like doing some cleaning around the place. I did drive to the local library on Saturday; but, it was so poorly stocked that I left with an empty bag. Maybe Olympia or Seattle would have a good bookstore, I mused, but then I thought of how much gas The Beast would need to drive that sort of distance, and I cringed to myself.

Best of all, the rain stayed soft over the weekend. A quiet hum that soothed me to sleep, and I felt like I was finally able to sleep well here.

People greeted me in the parking lot when I arrived on Monday morning. I didn't know all their names; but, I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder than usual this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights that was very straightforward to me. Easy. Mike may or may not have had some help from looking at my notes.

All in all, I was feeling more comfortable than I thought I would feel after a week in Forks. More cozy than I had ever expected to feel here.

Walking out of English, I froze. The air was swirling with bits of white, and I could hear other students shouting excitedly to each other.

"Wow," Mike said. "It's snowing early this year."

The wind bit at my cheeks; my nose, and I held my bag close as I shivered against it. The snow looked like little balls of cotton fluffs that were steadily building along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face. White fluffy dust that bit.

Grimacing, as each snowflake melted against my face with tingling stings, the word came out of me before I put any thought into it. "Ugh."

Mike looked at me with surprise. "You don't like snow?"

Blinking at him, as if it was a silly question, I just sighed and shook my head. "No."

Mike tilted his head like a dog, walking faster to catch up with me, trying to out-walk the snow. "Why not?"

He was too curious for his own good. "Snow is just a colder, wetter, version of rain. Rain soaks you through enough, and snow just bunches on you, then melts and you're even more frozen," once the tyraidstarted, I couldn't stop myself. "Besides – I thought snow was supposed to come down in pretty flakes, you know? Each one unique and all that, and these just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" Mike asked incredulously.

"Yeah, sure I have..." I paused. "On TV."

The snort that came out of Mike's nose had a sweet charm to it, and I might have forgiven his love of this stupid white stuff – if not for a big squishy ball of fresh snow smacking into the back of his head!

Turning to see who threw the ball of white at Mike, Eric was walking away with his back toward us – in the wrong direction for his next class. I'd had my suspicions that Eric and Mike were competing for my attention, but whether that was true or not, they weren't getting along very well and it was obvious he was the one who threw the snowball.

"Oh, you're getting it nerd," Mike said as he bent down to scoop up the white mush into a ball, and I knew that was my time to flee.

"Um, I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I said, already walking away from the snow battle.

Mike nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure. Watching Mike walk fast after him, I walked almost the same rushed pace to get away from the snow before someone else had any fun ideas.

All morning – everyone chattered excitedly about the snow. The first snowfall of the new year was clearly a big deal in these parts. Not wanting to bring down the mood, I said nothing. Sure, snow was 'dryer' until it melted into your socks.

Walking behind Jessica to the cafeteria after Spanish class, my eyes were as alert as an owl. Mush balls were flying everywhere – and I had no skill or talent to stop them if someone decided to throw one at me. Jessica didn't seem to realize I was using her as a human shield until we were half-way to the cafeteria, and when she did she giggled.

"You know snow isn't toxic, right?" She teased, and I was just grateful she didn't torture me with picking up a snowball ant throwing it at me herself.

Pursing my mouth into a grimace, we walked into the cafeteria – the safe zone – and I relaxed. Mike immediately caught up to us as we walked in, laughing with ice melting in his blond hair.

While he and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fights, I slipped ahead of them in the lunch line to buy food. Out of sheer habit, my eyes darted to the Cullen table, and I froze where I stood.

There were five people at the table.

Jessica and Mike bumped right into me, and she pulled on my arm.

"Ah! Don't stop!" Jessica said with a laugh. "Silly goose!"

Mike tried to look at what had stopped me, and whether he realized I was watching the Cullen table or not, I hastily looked away before he could comment on it.

"Sorry – I thought I saw a snowball..." Humor wasn't my best feature, but that didnt' stop Jessica and Mike from giggling.

Moving to let Jessica and Mike order food first, my eyes were on the floor. My ears were so hot I could feel my face burning down to my toes. What reason did I have to feel so self-conscious anyway! So what if Edythe was here! I hadn't done a thing wrong!

"Um, Bella, what do you want?" Jessica asked, and I could only presume I'd been spaced out long enough for people in line to get antsy and glare at me.

"Oh, um, I'm actually not hungry," I said as I started to ease out of the line. My stomach churned, and Mike called out to me as I walked away.

"Hey – are you okay?"

Oh please don't bring extra attention to me…

"I just feel a little sick, I'll get a soda or something," I tried to reassure Mike, and I could tell I hadn't convinced him not to worry as he turned back to the server in the cafeteria.

Rushing away from the line, the last thing I heard was Mike talking to Jessica. "What's with Bella?"

Rushing to the Vending machine, which charged a lot more than a soda was worth, I dug out a few bills from my purse and shoved them into the machine. Which didn't take my money, they had been too bruised from an accidental trip through the wash.

My stomach truly felt unsettled, and a part of me wondered if it was a good idea to play it up and go to the nurses office for the next hour. Which was ridiculous! Why did -I- have to cower away like a mouse? I shouldn't have to, I didn't do anything wrong!

Poking my nose around the corner, I decided to permit myself just one glance at the Cullen's family table. If Edythe was glaring at me, I would skip Biology – like the coward I was. Peering at them behind my lashes, one of them was missing. But only the guy with blond hair – Jasper – was looking in my direction. Not at – me – but something nearby.

Rosalie, Edythe, and Emmett were smiling at each other, Rosalie leaning away toward her brother Jasper as Emmett shook his head like a dog to get snow all over her. They seemed to be enjoying the snowy day, like everyone else – though more like a scene from a hallmark movie than like the rest of the kids here. Edythe looked happy, she could care less about me.

Jasper squinted away from getting snow on him and held up his hands like a shield; but, his eyes were still looking my way.

Before I could formulate why, the answer tapped my shoulder.

"Hello," the voice sounded like tiny bells, and I turned around to see the black-haired pixie Cullen looking at me.

Words escaped me, and if it were possible I'd have been paler than she was from shock. Why was she talking to me?

"Uh, hi," I finally spit out, because she just kept smiling at me and dancing on the balls of her feet like she was waiting for me to say something back.

"I'm Alice," she said warmly, too warmly.

I cleared my throat. "H-hey Alice," I said, pretending I didn't already know her name by heart now.

She just giggled, a sound like fairy dust escaping her lips as she reached into her ridiculously fancy-looking purse and took out a five dollar bill. One that looked like it has never seen the light of day before, from how smooth and crisp the paper was.

"Here, these machines can be so picky," Alice said, and I cautiously reached to take her crisp bill and hand her my ratty excuse for a bill back.

"Oh, thanks," I mumbled, feeling more eyes on me, and in fear I couldn't bear to turn around to see if Alice's siblings were looking at me. Why was she being so nice to me?

Alice waved away the money, either from wanting to do a nice thing, or not wanting to touch battered ugly bills, I couldn't tell. "Pfft, don't worry about it, welcome to Forks."

"Thank you..." I squeaked.

Alice seemed to glow as though she thought I was a cute beanie baby she wanted to scoop up at the toy store. Her grin was electric, and I found myself really enjoying her company.

"My Dad won't stop talking about how happy Chief Swan is since you came here," Alice said, and it caught me off guard to think of my dad being that happy. Did he really talk about me to people? It cheered me, and I almost forgot about my nausea.

"Oh?" I muttered, like a doofus.

Alice giggled like soft bells again. "Have a good day, Bella."

Just like that, the dancing fairy princess with short black hair was gone, hopping over to the Cullen table again with some kind of can in her hand. Was Edythe watching me, now? My eyes turned to peek through the veil of my dark brown hair, and to my relief Edythe was playfully batting her bulky weight-lifting brother for trying to shake more snow on her.

Jasper was watching Alice, and his eyes seemed to only see her as she swam through the room to sit next to him. When Alice saw me looking at them, she waved, and then all the Cullens looked my way!

Darting behind the wall, hiding behind the vending machine, I couldn't bring myself to use the pristine five dollar bill on a soda. It was weird, like the bill was some kind of souvenir. Sliding it into my pocket, like I'd been given something precious from a celebrity, when I was sure that the Cullens weren't watching me anymore, I whisked myself to the lunch table where Mike and Jessica were watching me with wide eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jessica asked me, and I looked at the Cullen table as I sat down. Edythe was gone, and for some reason that filled me with panic until I saw her outside, walking away from the cafeteria through the snow. Was she upset? Was she mad Alice had talked to me?

"Bella?" Mike added, when I didn't say anything for a long moment.

"Oh, yeah, sorry – I just needed a few minutes."

Jessica relaxed, but her face was more suspicious than Mike's trusting smile. Mike slid a tray in front of me, a full tray of chicken nuggets and broccoli. "You should eat something."

Staring down at the food, I looked up at Mike nervously, because I thought Jessica looked...jealous. "Oh, thanks, you didn't have to..."

My eyes slipped away from Jessica and Mike to look at the Cullen's table; but, they were all filtering out into the snow with smiles on their faces. Except for Jasper, who looked like he was in pain.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica asked, and I realized she was trying to follow what I was looking at. Should I tell her about the Edythe thing? I didn't think she would understand, and the last thing I wanted was more gossip about me to make people stare at me more.

"The snow," I lied, and Jessica just started giggling. Losing all interest in her food as she playfully slapped Mike's shoulder.

"See, I told you!" Jessica said animatedly, and I laughed weakly.

Mike snorted and cracked his fingers. "Well, don't you ladies worry about the snow, I'll protect you."

Jessica and Angela seemed to think that was even more hilarious, and they laughed heartily while I ate a chicken nugget or two to show I was grateful. Mike might really like me, or he might just be a really kind guy, it was hard to tell – even if my gut seemed to know which one was the case. Not eating the chicken nuggets after he bought it for me would be rude, so I tried not to think about Alice's unexpected friendliness as I ate.

They spoke for a while of the Snow, and that maybe they should post-pone their trip to La Push Ocean Park, but I wasn't really listening. Edythe had looked happy with her family. The dark bruise-like circles under her eyes had been less prominent, and her pale skin seemed to be flushed – from a snow fight maybe. There was something else that seemed different; but, I couldn't place what it was.

"Psst, Bella," Angela finally interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up from mostly eaten food to look at her. Angela adjusted her glasses as she leaned in closer to whisper to me. She wasn't watching me, she was watching something in the distance. "I think Edythe Cullen is staring at you."

Eyes widening in panic, I looked where Angela was pointing, and sure enough Edythe was standing on the outside of the window next to Alice. When our eyes met, she seemed to bristle with concern, and Alice pinched her arm with what looked like a bubbling laugh at her sister's expense.

Jessica, hearing Angela, looked at the window too. Which meant Mike and the whole table looked at the window, and I sank down in humiliation and covered my face with my hands. God, now Edythe knew I was looking at her.

When the other kids didn't stop looking at Edythe and Alice, I tried to lightly shake Angela's arm. "Guys, can you please stop looking at her."

Jessica chuckled first. "Why? She's not looking at us anymore."

Too afraid to look up, fearing that meant she was just looking at me, I muttered with all the bravery of a field mouse. "Does she look mad?"

Angela furrowed her brow. "Should she be?"

All eyes were on me now, and I hated it. All appetite I had gained vanished and I gently pushed away my tray. "I just, don't think she likes me."

Sinking down to put my head on my arm, the queasiness was back and Jessica shrugged. "I don't think the Cullens like anybody."

Peeking through my hair at the window, Alice and Edythe were away from the window, like Alice was teasing her tomboyish sister. She kept trying to pinch Edythe and nod her head toward the Cafeteria. Was she trying to get Edythe to talk to me? Edythe's back was to me, so I didn't see what she looked like, but her shoulders seemed kind of tense.

Not wanting to be staring if Edythe looked back around, I hastily looked back at Mike when he started to change the subject. "It's their loss, cause we're awesome."

Jessica and Angela seemed to snort at the same time, but that didn't deter Mike. "Which reminds me – after school we're having an epic battle of the blizzard! Who'se in? I have a few more snowballs for the nerds, at least."

Angela rolled her eyes. "I resent that, Mike," she said as she adjusted her reading glasses.

Jessica looked at Mike with such eagerness and glee that I felt like she'd be up for anything Mike suggested. Staying silent, as I really didn't want to be anywhere near snowballs, I vowed to hide in the gym until the parking lot was cleared of snowy warfare.

For the rest of the lunch hour, I carefully kept my eyes on my own table. Deciding to honor the bargain I'd made with myself – even if the idea made me queasy. Edythe didn't look angry, so I would go ahead to Biology as planned. My stomach did little frightened flips at the thought of sitting next to her again; but, I was not going to be a coward if there wasn't a good reason to be.

Mike tried to segway me into the conversation several times, but I kept dodging any opinion on snow and snow fights. Not really talkative, when the bell rang I walked with Mike in silence, and he playfully tried to poke my shoulder because of how anti-social I was. But, we didn't have much of a chance to talk anyway – as he seemed to be the most popular target of snowballs. He was constantly dodging and throwing snowballs at other students, and I found myself walking further and further away from him to avoid snowballs.

We were almost at the door for Biology when I realized it had begun to rain. The rain beginning to wash away the traces of snow on the ground – with relief, as now I didn't have to hide in the gym and could drive straight home after school.

Everyone else groaned, but I felt myself smile at the loss of snow. Rain was better than snow, even if it was by a tiny margin. Ignoring Mike's string of complaints as we entered the class, to my relief my table was empty.

Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class wouldn't start for a few minutes; but, the room was abuzz with conversation. Keeping my eyes away from the door, to not be caught waiting for Edythe to come in by the woman herself, I feigned interest in doodling on a blank page in my notebook.

My entire body seemed to freeze when I heard the chair next to me move, but I struggled to pretend to re-shade a flower petal instead of turn my head to look at Edythe. In fear that she would be glaring at me.

"Hello," said a quiet, musical, voice beside me. Was Edythe talking to me? My chest felt suddenly out of breath.

She spoke again when I didn't answer her. "What are you drawing?"

Raising my eyes cautiously from my notebook, Edythe's eyes were taking me in with a cautious curiosity. Her chair was as far away from mine as it could possibly be; but, angled toward me as if to give me her full attention. Her bronze-blond hair looked to be dripping wet, disheveled – and even so, it looked like she just finished shooting a commercial for shampoo. Her dazzling face was friendly, open, with a slight smile on her flawless mouth. However, her eyes were concerned.

My mouth didn't move, I was too stunned that Edythe wanted to talk to me, that I didn't know what to say until my brain could process that she -did- in fact -want- to talk to me. Not hiss at me.

Edythe seemed to realize how stunned I was, so she kept talking softly to me. "My name is Edythe Cullen," she continued in her velvet voice. "I...didn't have the chance to introduce myself last week. I have heard you prefer to be called, Bella?"

My mind was spinning with confusion – had I made up the whole hissing fit last week? She was so perfectly polite right now. I had to speak; she was waiting – but I couldn't think of something to say for the life of me.

"H-How did you know that?" I stammered.

She laughed, a soft enchanting laugh that made my feet feel weak and strange.

"At this point, I think the whole town knows you prefer to be called Bella."

My mouth curled into a wary grimace, of course I was the center of gossip in this small town, what a stupid question!

Unable to fathom anything to recover myself from how much of a dork I had become, Mr. Banner saved me by starting the class. Trying desperately to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today, I scooted into the desk and turned my notebook to an empty page to sprawl out notes. Working as lab partners, we would have to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented, and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books, and in twenty minutes he would be coming around to see who had it right.

"The winning team of this assignment," Mr. Banner held up something that looked like a weird trophy. "Gets this year's Golden Onion."

My face sank – because Mr. Banner looked so happy and excited about his brilliance in trophy choices. Why would he think a bunch of kids would want a golden onion anyway? Who wanted to explain that trophy to people? The other students seemed excited about it, which made me wonder if Edythe was excited about it; but, she didn't look any different.

She was still staring at me, chair angled my direction. My stomach lurched and I hastily looked away.

"Get started," Mr. Banner commanded.

"Would you care to go first?" Edythe asked, and I peeked at her to see a strangely unnerving crooked smile on her face. It was so beautiful that I could only stare at her like an idiot. "Or I could start? If you wish?"

Edythe's smile faded, as though she was wondering if I was mentally challenged.

"N-No," I began; feeling everywhere inside me flushing or boiling. "I'll go ahead." Maybe I was desperate to prove to Edythe that I wasn't stupid, and as I had done this class before, this was a way I could show off just a little bit. It should be easy! I'd done this before. Snapping the first slide into place under the microscope, I adjusted it quickly to the 40x objective zoom and peeked through the microscope to study the sample.

My assessment was confident. "Prophase."

"Do you mind if I review your findings, scientist?" Edythe teased, and I felt my stomach lurch again as she reached over toward me to turn the microscope her way. She had to lean forward to look through the microscope, and her wet hair fell down in a waterfall of bronze hair cascading over her face.

Unfortunately, we had both been reaching for the microscope, as I had wanted to turn it for her to not be rude. So my hand touched her perfect fingers. Her hand was ice cold, like she'd been holding onto a dry ice-cube before class started. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away from hers so quickly.

When I touched her hand, it stung, as if electric current had passed between us and shocked me.

"Forgive me," Edythe muttered, pulling her hand behind her back immediately. However, she turned to keep looking through the microscope, and after a short moment she pulled back.

"Prophase," she agreed with another of those crooked smiles at me. She wrote with such perfect penmanship on our worksheet that I felt the desire to never write again so I could keep seeing her beautiful script. Saying nothing, like an idiot, Edythe swapped the first slide for the second one and gazed at it curiously.

"Anaphase," she murmured softly, writing it down as she spoke, and I found myself needing to impress her and win this competition.

"May I double check?"

Edythe smirked at me, and when I didn't reach forward to turn the microscope, she gently turned it for me and moved her hands away from it entirely. It seemed we were both being extra careful not to touch again.

"Of course," she hummed, and I leaned forward cautiously to peruse the slide with the most fleeting look I could manage before I leaned back again.

Disappointment filled me, she was right. "Anaphase."

"Like I said," she teased, and I both couldn't look at her in the eye, and couldn't look away.

"Slide three?" The words fell from me with slightly more ease than before; but, it was still very hard to speak around this woman who was so much more beautiful than myself. Edythe slid the third slide to me, and I hastily slipped it into the microscope.

Why did I want to touch her hand again? I knew it might shock again, but that wasn't the reason I carefully avoided touching her fingers as we peeked at the slides back and forth.

"Interphase," she muttered the last slide, and at this point I just wrote down whatever she said, and she wrote down whatever I said.

The sheet looked so sad, to me. My writing resembled chicken scratch in comparison to how gorgeous her writing was, and it haunted me how badly I wanted to hide my flaws from Edythe. Writing hadn't been a flaw for me before, but everything I could do seemed obsolete in comparison to Edythe.

We were finished long before anyone else was close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open underneath the table.

Which left me with no distractions, nothing to keep me from...staring at Edythe.

Unable to resist, my eyes rose to watch her face, and I found her staring back at me with avid curiosity. She had the same inexplicable look of frustration in her eyes, and all of a sudden I realized what was different about her face.

"Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly, and she seemed puzzled at my unexpected question.

"No, why do you ask?"

My stomach did a flip flop as I tried to think of what to say that wasn't stupid. "Oh, I just...thought you had darker eyes..."

Edythe seemed annoyed, as she shrugged and looked away from me.

But the more I thought about it, the more I was sure that her eyes truly were different. I vividly remembered the black color of her eyes when she had glared at me last week. The color was so striking against the background of her pale skin and bronze hair. Today, her eyes were a completely different color – a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch; but, with the same golden tone. I didn't understand how one could even have gold eyes, unless she was lying for some reason about the contacts. Maybe Forks was making me crazy, but her eyes weren't black and I couldn't ignore it.

Glancing down, Edythe's hands were clenched into fists again, and worry filled me. Why had my question irritated her? Couldn't she just say she wore contacts? Was she afraid of not being seen as perfect, or something? Was I imagining things?

Mr. Banner came to our table, then, to see why we weren't working like the rest of the class. He glanced over our shoulders to peruse our completed lab, and then stared more intently to check our answers.

He gazed to Edythe with a shrewd sort of look. "Now, Edythe, don't you think that Isabella should have been given a chance to look through the microscope?"

"Bella," Edythe corrected on autopilot, and I felt a weird sort of gratitude for her as she looked back at me with soft eyes, then looked up at the teacher. "And, Bella identified three of the five slides, Mr. Banner."

As soft as her eyes were, Edythe's hands were still fists under the table, and I couldn't understand why. Mr. Banner was looking at me now, though, so I turned my face to look up at him.

His expression was skeptical. "Have you done this lab before?"

A sheepish smile flushed my face. "Not with onion root."

He raised an eyebrow. "Whitefish blastula?"

I nodded at him. "Yeah."

Mr. Banner nodded, and then chuckled quietly to himself. "I take it you were in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"

Biting down on my lip, worried of being 'too smart' to Edythe, I avoided answering a moment. "Yeah."

"Well," Mr. Banner said after a pause. "I suppose it's good you two are lab partners, then." He murmured, mumbling something else as he walked away.

After he was gone, with no other distraction I could think of to keep from staring at Edythe's too perfect face, I opened my notebook to doodle again.

"It's too bad about the snow melting, isn't it?" Edythe asked, and I had a feeling she was trying to force herself to make small talk with me.

"Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. It was hard to concentrate on any kind of doodle with her eyes on me, so I stopped looking at the paper and set my pencil down.

"So, you don't like snow," she commented, a fact more-so than a question.

"I don't like...cold, wet, things."

Edythe laughed, too hard, and everyone stared when they heard her ethereal laugh. She stopped after a few seconds, but it looked like she was struggling not to get hooked with a case of the giggles. "Forks must be a difficult place for you to live in," she teased.

"You have no idea," I tried to mutter darkly; but, it was hard to be gloomy when Edythe was so charmingly amused.

She looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't grasp. Her face had such a magnetism that I tried desperately not to stare too much at her eyes more than courtesy demanded. The window, with rain, was not in any way distracting but it was all I had to look at that.

"Why did you move here, then?"

No one had bothered to ask me that, before – not so straight-forward and precise. She caught me off guard, and I awkwardly tugged on my fingers in a fidget over my notebook.

"It's...complicated."

"Try me," Edythe insisted, her voice so eager to know.

I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting her gaze. Her dark gold eyes subdued me, and I found myself answering even though I didn't usually share intimate details about myself.

"My mother got remarried."

Her face lit up with perplexity. "That doesn't sound so complex, to me," she disagreed; but, her tones were so kind and sympathetic. "Were they recently married?"

"Last September..." the words fell from my lips like raindrops; sad and wet.

"Do you not like your step-father?" She inquired, her voice still soft.

"No – Phil's great. Too young for my mom, maybe, but he's a nice guy."

Edythe tapped her fingers gently against the table in thought, as though she was playing some imaginary tune to better concentrate on her thoughts. "Why couldn't you stay with them, then?"

Why was she so interested in me? I couldn't fathom her interest; and yet, she continued to stare at me with her gorgeous penetrating eyes. As if my dull life story was somehow vitally important to her.

"Phil travels a lot, he plays baseball for a living," I half smiled, half cringed, at the recollection. "Mom would stay home with me while he's gone, and I know it made her unhappy, so I thought I'd spend some time with my dad for a while."

She pursed her lips in thought. "Is Phil a famous baseball player?"

I shook my head. "No, he doesn't play -that- well, he's minor league."

She pursed her lips, and I found myself watching the way she thoughtfully touched her chin with her other hand. Her fingernails were so clean and perfect – no fake nails, like Rosalie, but they looked like they had been painted on her hand from how beautiful they were to me.

"I don't understand," she finally whispered, smirking her crooked smile at me, making my knees melt and my heart-rate quicken unbeknownst to me. "You came here to make your mom happy? And now you're unhappy?"

Her question struck me, and I bit down on my lip nervously. Sighing even, as I didn't know why I was so strangely open with her. Her open, obvious, curiosity was like a drug to me. "Forks isn't all bad..."

She didn't believe me, probably because there was some truth or grimace on my face she could read with her dark gold irises. "Even so, you seem so morose. Tis hardly fair for you to be unhappy when she is happy."

Something of a weak laugh escaped me, genuine as it was. "Well, life is hardly fair. I know if our situation was reversed, she'd do it for me."

"And yet, I would be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."

A grimace took over my mouth; why did she care? Why was she pointing this out? I didn't want anyone to know I was unhappy, then people would feel sorry for me – and the idea of Edythe feeling sorry for me was a blow to me.

Glancing away in haste, to resist acting out like an angry five year old at her being so 'on the nose', I'd hoped the conversation was over. It wasn't.

"Am I wrong?" She asked, so serenely, with such sympathy and yearning, that I didn't know how to react.

When I didn't speak, and pretended to ignore her, she had her answer. When I peeked at her, she was smiling smugly at me.

"Why does it matter to you, if I'm unhappy here?" I asked, mild irritation sticking to my words like the snow of earlier today. Keeping my eyes away, I watched Mr. Banner making his rounds to the other tables.

Edythe didn't answer me, she turned her head away and whispered something quietly under her breath. It sounded like she said 'that's a very good question', but to herself more than making a reply to me.

We both sat in mutual silence for the longest thirty seconds of my life up til that point. When I peeked to look at her hands, see if they were clenched into fists under the desk again, her hands were resting weakly on her thighs. Palms sitting over her pale skinny jeans non-threateningly, and perhaps she saw this as a moment to speak again.

"Am I annoying you, with my questions?" She asked, as though amused at the idea that she could bother me so strongly.

Glancing at her face without thinking, the truth fell out of me again. "Not exactly, I'm more annoyed with myself. I have a really easy to read face, I guess, my mom always says so."

"On the contrary" – Edythe mentioned, pausing and tilting her head to gently scrutinize my expression – "I find you rather difficult to read."

Even though she had pinpointed everything about me so far, it really sounded like she meant what she said, and it surprised me.

"You must be a really good reader, then," I replied, more cheerfully than I felt.

"Usually," she beamed to me, flashing a set of perfect – ultra-white – teeth.

Before I could answer, Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned to listen to him. Still in shock and disbelief that I had so easily shared my dreary life story to someone in the scope of five minutes. To a bizarre, beautiful, girl who may or may not despise me. She'd seemed to engrossed in our conversation; but, from the corner of my eye I saw that she was leaning away from me again. Her hands gripping the edge of the table with an unmistakable tension. Why be nice to me if she didn't like being around me? I couldn't honestly tell, if she liked me more or less.

Attempting to at least appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated on the board, I kept my eyes on the overhead projector. My thoughts, however, were unmanageable and nothing of science held any substance in my head.

When the bell finally rang, Edythe rushed as swift-fully and as gracefully from the room as she had last Monday...and like last Monday, I gazed after her vanishing form in amazement.

Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me before I could stop him. If it was possible, I imagined him with a wagging tail, he was so happy as he watched me.

"Congrats for winning!" He said, and I totally spaced that Edythe and I had won the stupid Golden Onion trophy. Looking at where it was on the lab desk, I took it in my hand; thinking about how Edythe had carefully spun it in her fingers during Mr. Banner's lesson. She had touched it, I held it now, and some small sliver of electricity pooled into my palms from the shared touch of the stupid shiny onion.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," I replied, and he beamed as he tried to hold his hand out for me to take it.

Clearly Mike was expectant, hoping I would take his hand, but that would look to others like we were dating – and discomfort filled me. I, as much as I liked Mike, didn't feel for him that way. Guilt filled me as I stood without grabbing his hand and pushed the chair in with my foot.

"You're lucky you had Edythe on your team, I hear she's real smart," he said, and I felt myself cringe. Of course she was. "That was awful, though, all the slides looked the same.."

"Well, I didn't have any trouble with it," I replied indignantly, not liking the idea that Mike thought I only won because Edythe was on my team. Regret filled me for the snub I made, unconsciously. "I mean, I've done this lab before, in Phoenix."

He seemed to not realize I had snubbed him, or he forgave it already. "Edythe seemed friendly enough today..." he hinted at me as we shrugged into our raincoats. His voice was warm and encouraging, like he was trying to reassure me that no one couldn't like me here.

"Yeah, she was. I wonder what was with her last Monday," I said, in as indifferent a voice as I could muster, and we continued on to Gym.

Mike sure chattered a lot, especially on the trip to La Push, which he brought up again and looked at me expectantly. Feeling like he was just going to keep asking, I bit down on my lip and finally gave him an answer. "Well, since everyone else is going, I guess I'll go, too."

Mike looked like he was going to snoopy dance out of his skin with the grin on his face. "Cool, we can plan more on it later."

Mike was on my team today, and he chivalrously covered my position on the Volleyball team as well as his own, so my wool gathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve.

My team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up to serve; but, they did their best to not make me feel embarrassed about it. Mike seemed to be going out of his way to protect me, which made Jessica look at him with pain on her face, and I inwardly groaned.

Sooner or later, I had to nip this in the bud, I just didn't like Mike, kind and sweet as he was.

The rain was settling into a mist as I walked out into the parking lot after Gym ended, but I was happier once I was in the dry cab of The Beast. Turning the ignition to run the heater, for once not caring of how loud the mind-numbing roar of his engine was, my brain was far from Mike or the rain. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair so that the heater could dry it on the way home.

Glancing around to make sure the coast was clear, that's when I noticed the still, white, figure. Edythe Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction.

We stared at each other until Alice joined her and gently touched Edythe's arm, something playful on her pixie face at having caught Edythe staring at me.

Swiftly looking away once eye-contact was broken, I threw the Beast into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste!

Luckily for the Toyota, I stomped on the break in time not to hit it. It was just the sort of car that my old truck would make scrap metal out of. Taking a deep, worried, breath as the owner of the Toyota loudly expressed his unease at me, I cautiously pulled out again with greater success.

Trying desperately to stare ahead of me as I passed their Volvo; but, from a peripheral peek, I could swear I saw Edythe laughing at me.


	4. Chapter Three - The Van

_So this chapter ended up having more changes than I thought it would have, which while it removed a great deal of teenage angst in the argument between Bella and Edythe, I felt it made more sense and future chapters may embellish that angst a bit more solidly. Thank you for waiting for me! I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I am looking forward to when I can upload chapter four pretty soon, guys._

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Something was different when I opened my eyes the next morning. The light pouring in through my bedroom windows was still the greenish-gray color of a cloudy day in the forest; but, it was clearer somehow. It took me a moment to realize that there was no fog veiling my window. It seemed warmer, in feeling if not in temperature, and excitement filled me.

Jumping out of bed to look out the window, my excitement waned immediately; a groan escaped me in horror.

The yard was covered in a fine layer of snow, dusting the top of my truck; whitening the road. Had that been the only touch of bad news, I might not have sighed to myself, but all the rain from yesterday had frozen solid. Coating the needles of the trees in fantastic, gorgeous, patterns, my appreciation of such beauty was dampened by the driveway having become a deadly slick of ice.

I had enough trouble walking without tripping when the ground was dry – much less when it was slippery by design. My mouth curled; it might be safer to just crawl back into bed and pretend to be sick.

The idea of being seen as a coward suddenly bothered me, and I left the window to face the day. Meticulously looking over what clothes I had for what would be the safest and warmest things I could wear against the ice. A dark green sweater and jeans would have to do.

Charlie must have left for work before I finished getting ready, as the house was eerily dark and quiet. In many ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place. He was gone before I left for school, gone when I returned, and I found myself reveling in the solitude instead of feeling lonely. My mom was like a gnat, she was always there, and while I loved my mom very much – she didn't understand the concept of personal space.

The idea of going to school excited me, even as it scared me. Barely eating a bowl of Raisin Bran and a glass of orange juice without feeling my mouth creep into a smile, I knew my excitement had nothing to do with the stimulating learning environment. Even the thought that I had school-friends didn't bring that burst of life I felt. If I was being wholly honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I might see Edythe Cullen. Which was very, very, stupid – we were barely friends! It didn't make sense that her weirdly spelled name made me happy when it crossed my mind.

Her eyes, shifting between black and antagonistic to gold and intrigued, flooded my chest with a strange burst of life. Each nuance of her expressions, the way her eyebrows furrowed when she asked me questions, was a fluttery stone in my stomach. Why was she suddenly so interested in me, when a week ago she seemed to hate me?

Cleaning up my dishes and grabbing my bag, I tried not to think about her. Her eyes kept reappearing in my head. Bronze locks of barely tamed hair overshadowing her pale skin and defined cheekbones. Really, I should be avoiding her entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. I still felt suspicious of her, too. Why would she lie about her eyes? The difference was too obvious for me to ignore, did she want me to pretend I was stupid?

Fear still clutched inside me when I remembered the hostility in her eyes, the vehemence that I still felt emanating from her. But that didn't stop e from feeling my tongue swell when I thought about her perfect face.

Edythe was a perfect person to me, her family was wealthy, had the nicest cars and clothes, her father a talented surgeon who had chosen her on purpose to adopt as far as I knew. She was in a league I couldn't touch, with a loud and blaring old truck that made everyone in the parking lot dread when I pulled out.

Her face, raised in laughter at me, haunted me. It wasn't cruel, a laugh to hurt me on purpose; but, still it stung inside my chest.

Why did she even want to be my friend? Maybe it was a fluke, and she was just being kind to me because I'm her lab partner. The thought hurt me more than I was comfortable admitting to myself. There wasn't a reason to be anxious about seeing her if she was just being nice to me.

It took every ounce of concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway without slipping and knocking my head into the ice. Very nearly falling three times before I finally got to the Beast and held onto my truck's side mirror to save myself.

Great, if all the ground was a giant ice cube, today was going to be hell.

Driving to school with the radio on, to try and distract myself from my terror of falling and embarrassing myself, my mind slipped to Eric and Mike. I couldn't deny it anymore, boys treated me a lot different here than in Phoenix. Surely I was the same as I was back in Phoenix, and no one had been impressed by me there. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through all those awkward phases of adolescence and they still saw me that way? Perhaps it was because I was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far between. Maybe my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic; casting me as a damsel in distress?

Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behavior and Eric's apparent rivalry with him were disconcerting. I wasn't sure if I didn't prefer being ignored. As nice as it was to have friends, it didn't seem like Eric or Mike wanted to be 'just friends' with me. Maybe I was reading too much into them. While I drove, the Beast seemed to have no problem with the black ice covering the roads. Even so, I drove very slowly, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through main street.

When I got out of my truck at school, something silver caught my eye, and I saw why I'd had such little trouble with the ice. Carefully holding the side of the Beast for support, I walked to the back of my truck to examine my tires. There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes wrapped around them. Charlie must have gotten up God knew how early to put snow chains on my truck. My throat suddenly felt tight. I wasn't used to being so well taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise.

Struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion that the snow chains had brought on, I was still standing by the back corner of the truck when I heard a really strange sound…

It was a high-pitched scream, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled.

Several things simultaneously happened. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.

Edythe Cullen had been standing four cars from me, in absolute horror. Her face stood out from the sea of faces staring at me, all frozen in the same mask of shock. Of more immediate importance, however, was the dark blue van that was skidding – tires locked and squealing against the breaks – spinning rapidly across the ice covering the parking lot. The blue van was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing directly between them.

I didn't even have time to close my eyes.

Just before I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me – hard. Just, not from the direction I was expecting. My head cracked against the icy blacktop, and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground. I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car I'd parked next to; but, I didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming for me. It had curled gratingly around the end of my truck, and, still spinning and sliding – was about to collapse with me again.

A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize. Two long, white, hands shot out protectively in front of me. Two perfectly shaped hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the dark blue van's body, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face.

Edythe's hands moved so fast that they blurred – one was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me – swinging my legs around like a rag doll, til they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning, metallic, thud hurt my ears and the van settled – glass popping – onto the asphalt.

Exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been. It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In an abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edythe Cullen's low, frantic, voice in my ear.

"Bella? Are you alright?" She asked over and over, and I just drank in the sound of her velvet voice before I realized this wasn't a horrible dream – I had narrowly escaped death.

"I'm fine," my voice sounded so strange. Trying to sit up, I realized Edythe was holding me against the side of her body with an iron grasp.

Everything felt warm, even though she was so cold. Edythe was protecting me, she wanted me safe, she wanted to be close to me; nothing else mattered to me for that little moment.

"Please be more careful," she warned as I weakly struggled against her grasp to get more comfortable. "I think you've hit your head pretty hard."

At her words, I became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear. As if her voice had turned my nerves back on, and I could feel the pain of where I had hit the ground.

"Ouch," I whispered, surprised as I tried to touch behind my ear.

"That's what I thought," she said, her voice warm and bemused, as though she was trying not to laugh at me.

"How..." I trailed off, trying to clear my head and process all I saw. "How did you get over here so fast?"

Suddenly Edythe's voice was serious. "What do you mean? I was standing right next to you, Bella."

Trying to sit up again, this time Edythe let me, and with some sadness in my chest she released her hold around my waist and slid as far from me as she could in the limited space between me and the tan car. I looked at her, concern in my naive expression, and I found myself disoriented by the force of her golden-colored eyes. What was I even asking her?

"No...I _saw you_...over there..." I weakly pointed, but it didn't matter then.

That was when they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other – shouting at us.

"Don't move," someone instructed, their voice sounding much older than myself.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" Someone else shouted.

There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up; but, Edythe's cold, slender, hand pushed my shoulder down so I stayed on the asphalt.

"Please stay down," Edythe beckoned, and I let my body rest there.

"But, it's _cold_ ," the comment left me before I could think about it, and it surprised me when I saw Edythe chuckle under her breath. There was an edge to the sound, like electricity rushed through me when I heard it.

My mind hadn't lied to me, though, I knew Edythe had been four cars away when Tyler's van came toward me. Even though my head hurt too much to demand answers from her right now, her face looked, like she was hoping I wouldn't notice how fast she moved; how her hands had blurred to move me and stop the van.

I felt like if I asked her more, with all these people nearby, she would just deny the truth again. Or she might get mad and leave me here alone on the icy ground. Reaching out for her hand, she moved hers away, and I knew something was wrong. I wanted her to keep holding my hand too much, and maybe she saw that and felt disgusted with me. Some pathetic deer that needed to be held and coddled in stressful situations – which was never me before...I don't know why I wanted it so badly.

I could hear the sirens now.

It took six EMTs and two teachers – Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp – to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edythe vehemently refused to lay on a stretcher, and I tried to do the same, but Edythe told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion. I almost died of humiliation when they put me in a neck brace.

It looked like the entire school was there – watching soberly as they loaded me and Tyler into the back of an ambulance. For some reason Edythe got to ride in the front, and it was maddening. To make matters worse, the school must have called Charlie, as Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely into the ambulance.

"Bella!" Charlie yelled in panic as soon as he recognized me on the stretcher.

For some reason, this made it so much worse, and I wished I could really have died right then than to have had to see that worry on his face. His eyes were so hurt and frazzled; it crushed me to see him so worried about me. I'd never seen him more worried in my life.

"Bella, I'm here, what happened?!"

"Dad, I'm okay," I weakly began to say, but the closest EMT recognized him as my father and they began to talk. My father demanded to know what had happened while they closed me in the ambulance, and as I couldn't defend myself right now, I just focused on the inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head.

When I had been lifted up in the stretcher, I saw the deep dent in the tan car's bumper – a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edythe's shoulders...as if she had braced herself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame of the tan car…

And then there was her family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury. Their eyes held no hint of concern for their sister's safety, the only thing close to worry was what I saw in Alice's face as Edythe followed my stretcher toward the Ambulance. She seemed concerned, but not about her, like for some reason she was upset with her sister.

During the ride, I tried desperately to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen – a solution that excluded the assumption that I had a concussion and this was all in my head. Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital, and I felt embarrassed and ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. What made it worse is that Edythe simply glided through the hospital doors with her normal gracefulness without anyone making her wear a neck-brace of shame or ride in a humiliating stretcher. My teeth ground together, it must be the perks of being so strangely ethereal, which didn't seem fair in the slightest.

They brought me into one of the emergency rooms, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm, and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, the shame of wearing the neck brace grew to be too overwhelming. As soon as the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro holding the brace around my neck and tossed it under the bed.

There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me, and I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt; but, he was staring wide eyed and anxious at me.

"Bella, I'm so sorry!"

He was so genuine, so remorseful, and for some reason I felt guilt at his worry over me. "I'm okay, Tyler – you look awful though, are you alright?"

Waiting for an answer, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.

He ignored me. "I – I thought I was g-going to kill you, Bella! I was g-going so fast, and I hit the ice wrong…" He winced as one of the nurses started dabbing at his face.

"Don't worry about it – you missed me, and I'm okay."

"H-How did you get out of the way? You were right there – the car came right for you..."

His shock at how I was okay shattered any illusions I had that I had made up what I saw. "Edythe pulled me out of the way."

He looked so confused. "Who?"

"Edythe, Edythe Cullen? She was standing right next to me," I'd never been a very good liar, but he seemed to have been convinced.

"Really? Wow, I didn't see her...It was all so fast, I guess. Is she okay?"

"I think so," I paused to try and give a reassuring smile. "She's here somewhere – they didn't make her use a stretcher."

Deep down, I knew I hadn't been crazy – I hadn't gotten a concussion. What had happened then? There was no logical way to explain away what I'd seen.

While they tended to Tyler, nurses came and wheeled me away to X-ray my head. I insisted that I'd probably only gotten a bruise; but, they said it was protocol. When the test was over, I sighed inwardly, because I was right. There wasn't a concussion, and I asked the nurse if I could leave.

"You have to talk with the Doctor before we can release you," she said, and realizing I was trapped in the ER, harassed by Tyler's incessant apologies and promises to make it up to me, I laid down on the bed and tried to sleep. No sleep came, and no matter how many times I tried to convince Tyler that I was fine, he continued to torment himself.

Finally, I just closed my eyes and ignored his remorseful mumbling. Pretending to sleep, even as my mind was too restless to sleep. Edythe had somehow saved me, I know she did. She had, for a short time, held me and worried about me. Why? How? She had been too far to run and stop the van, and yet...she had.

"Is she sleeping?" A musical voice asked, and my eyes flew open. Edythe was standing at the foot of my bed, worry in her eyes, a playful smirk on her face.

I wasn't sure if I was glaring or ogling at her – it was hard to be angry at Edythe for escaping being humiliated on a stretcher. She did look to be okay, as perfect as she always seemed to be.

"Hey, Edythe, I'm really sorry-" Tyler began, but Edythe lifted a hand to stop him.

"No blood, no foul," she said, flashing her brilliant teeth. "I think the cars got dented more than we did," she said with such playful sincerity that Tyler seemed to finally stop apologizing.

Edythe approached me, closing the curtain between my bed and Tyler's, and feeling somewhat alone with her, I both relaxed and tensed. She must have sensed the way my stomach curled, because she stayed at the foot of the bed, out of arms length.

"So, what's the verdict?" She asked me, concern in her gaze, the humor almost gone from her lips.

"There's nothing wrong with my head, but I have to talk to the Doctor before they'll let me go..." I confessed, not able to lie to her, for whatever reason. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney, too?"

"My father's rather important here," Edythe said with playful amusement. "But don't worry about me, I'm quite alright. Besides, I came to free you."

As if on queue, a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open. The man was young, blond, and more handsome than any movie star I'd ever seen. He was pale, tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. Assuming from Charlie's description – this had to be Edythe's father! He couldn't have been older than his early thirties, and that was being kind to add years to his face.

Edythe moved, to let her father look at me.

"So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably angelic voice. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said, hopefully for the last time today. He walked to the light-board on the wall over my head and turned it on, considering the image with a quiet hum.

"Hmm, your X-rays look good," he mentioned. "Does your head hurt? Edythe mentioned that you hit your head rather hard earlier."

Worry contorted my face, and I felt my mouth curl into a mild scowl. Why would Edythe keep insisting I hurt my head so much? Was she trying to hide something?

"It's alright," I added with a soft sigh.

Not convinced, Dr. Cullen moved his cool doctor's hand close to my head, moving his fingers to lightly probe behind my ear. He noticed when I winced.

"Tender?" He asked.

"A little," I replied. I'd had a lot worse than this in my life, this kind of stinging didn't really bother me.

"Well, that's normal, you have some bruising – it should clear up in a couple of days," Dr. Cullen mentioned, then flashed me an almost debonair smile that made me feel like I was in a soap opera Hospital show than in Forks, WA.

"Well, your father is in the waiting room, when you're ready, you can find him around the corner and down the hall on your left," he paused. "Get plenty of rest, and if you feel any unexpected dizziness or trouble with your eyesight, come back right away. Your father has my number."

Get plenty of rest? What did that mean?

"Oh, I thought I would just go back to school..."

My eyes darted to Edythe, but she wasn't there anymore. Pain filled me, both at the idea of Charlie trying to take care of me when I was fine, and of missing out on an entire school-day where I might be near Edythe more.

"Maybe you should take it easy today, Bella, just in case you develop more symptoms," Dr. Cullen insisted, and I felt my eyes well up.

"I'm fine, really, I don't want to miss school-" I insisted, and saw the curtain move ever so slightly.

Edythe was standing at the far foot of the bed beside her father, her hand had moved the curtain to look at my face, probably because my voice was wavering and pathetic. I sounded like I was about to blubber, and if I was being honest with myself I probably looked like I was going to cry, too.

She seemed confused, pained even, and I didn't understand her expression. "My father is a very skilled Doctor, Miss Swan, please listen to him."

She entreated with such concern that it felt like a hand squeezed my stomach, but I couldn't bring myself to promise I wouldn't go. I could only nod, and wince from the pain shooting through my skull.

"Are you going to school, though?"

I found myself unable to look away from her gold eyes as she watched me nervously nibble on my lip. She was almost smug as she cockily tilted her head at me. "Someone has to spread the news that we survived, right?"

Dr. Cullen cleared his throat, but I could swear it sounded like a chuckle. "Actually, I think the entire school seems to be out in the waiting room."

"Oh no..." I whispered as I got up – too fast. I staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught me with concern in his gaze.

I realized his concerned eyes were also Gold, which seemed strange to me. Weren't Edythe and her siblings all – adopted – by him and his wife?

"I – I'm okay," I assured the doctor. No need to tell him my balance problems had nothing to do with hitting my head.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he insisted as he helped to steady me.

"It really doesn't hurt that bad, but I will," I tried to reassure.

Dr. Cullen smiled, signing my chart with an unearthly flourish as he looked to me. "It sounds like you were extremely lucky, Miss Swan."

My eyes drifted to Edythe, who had moved away from the foot of my bed, and was avoiding looking at me for some reason. Maybe because I was wearing a medical robe and it was rude to stare.

"Lucky Edythe happened to be standing next to me," I amended, my eyes hardening as I studied Edythe's face. She didn't look like how a hero would boast, she looked like she was hoping her father wouldn't have heard what I said.

"Oh," Dr. Cullen began, looking at his daughter. "Well, of course," he agreed, suddenly very occupied with my sheet as he turned away from me and shot a glance I couldn't see at Edythe.

After that, Dr. Cullen moved to focus on Tyler, and Edythe started to walk away. I knew she'd leave if I didn't say something, so I moved with one hand holding my hospital gown behind me for modesty to reach her side. "Wait..."

"Yes?" She asked, confused as to why I had stopped her from leaving.

"Can I...talk to you for a minute?"

Edythe took a step away from me, and for some reason her jaw suddenly clenched as if she was irritated.

"Your father is waiting for you," she almost seemed to demand, as if she just wanted me gone from the hospital. I glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler, they both didn't seem to be listening to us.

"Please – just give me a minute…" I asked, and she almost glared at me. Her change in demeanor struck me, like she'd stabbed something in my arm, and she gave me the faintest of nods before she walked out of the room.

After I dressed behind the curtain, grabbing my bag, I walked outside the emergency room – half afraid that she would have just ditched me in there – but she was waiting at the end of the corner into a shorter hallway.

Joining her, I followed her into the tiny hallway before she spun around to face me.

"What is it?" She asked, sounding annoyed. Her eyes were so cold, her sudden lack of concern or care intimidated me.

Caught so off guard, my words fell out of me like a bumbling waterfall. "You weren't by the car, earlier."

Her eyes were daggers for me. "Yes, _I was_ ," she seethed like a venomous viper.

Tyler's worry from earlier flooded into my mind, along with the images of her shoulders making a dent in the tan car. "No, you weren't. I saw you by your Volvo."

"I was walking - **toward** \- you, Bella, I wasn't – _that_ – far away," she insisted, but I could swear there was panic in her eyes. Panic she was trying to disguise as hatred, and to be honest I wasn't sure if I was imagining the panic and she really was finding me an annoying person.

"Why were you walking to me, then?"

Edythe froze, stunned momentarily by my question. The hatred left her eyes, only for a moment, before she narrowed her eyes and looked utterly disgusted at me. "What does it matter? I saved _your life_ – most people would be grateful for that."

"I didn't say I wasn't thankful-" I tried to combat, but she interrupted me, already starting to move around me.

"What do you _- **want-**_ from me, _Bella_."

The loathing in her voice hurt me, tore me, and I froze. I didn't know what to say, how to even formulate something that even sounded rational to me.

When I couldn't answer, Edythe shirked past me.

"Go home, rest your head," she said before walking down the hallway as fast and as gracefully as she always did.

Feeling like a complete idiot, I watched her go; but, I couldn't bring myself to leave the tiny hallway for another ten minutes at least.

She hated me, that's what her words felt like. She probably thought I was some kind of worm she had to be nice to, something that would break into a hundred pieces unless someone held me by the hand and made sure I didn't die. Given my track record of trips and breaking bones, that thought wouldn't have been entirely wrong.

I couldn't believe I had just frozen up like that! What kind of backbone did I have! She did – something – to be able to save me. Tyler hadn't seen her, so I hadn't been making it up. The van should have hit me, it could have even killed me if not for Edythe going out of her way to save me.

I was so angry at myself that I could feel the anger tears well up inside me. I tried desperately to force them back by grinding my teeth together; but, with no one watching me and no one seeming to even use this hallway, I faced the end of the hallway and hid my face behind my hair. I wasn't stupid! She had lifted the van! Even if I didn't know how she did it, she'd done it!

What I thought barely mattered in that moment, everything in my head lashed out at me. All I could picture was Edythe's spiteful, disgusted, snarl as she looked at me. The way she shirked past me and walked away like I was a thorn in her side.

Mostly, I hated that I had become one of those girls who cried when they were rejected. I'd never cried when I lost friends before – I couldn't really understand why it hurt so much right now.

It took me ten minutes of trying desperately not to wail like a dying animal until the hot tears stopped balling down my face. When the anguish left me enough that I thought I could fake that the tears had never happened.

When I could walk again, I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway – praying to myself that Edythe wouldn't be there to glare at me in the waiting room when I entered. Unfortunately, the waiting room in question was more unpleasant than I'd feared, but not because Edythe was there.

It seemed like every face I knew well in Forks was there – staring at me. All of them looking at my dry, puffy, eyes, ruined hair, and horrified expression.

Charlie rushed to my side, and I was both relieved and stressed out to see him.

I raised my hands up, fearful that he'd try and coddle me. "I'm okay, Dad," I answered him, trying not to speak with a sullen voice. Not in the mood for chit chat here, in front of all these people.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Dr. Cullen said I was fine, and I could go home," I said with a sigh, really wanting to go home now and hide my humiliated face from Edythe for a while.

Mike, Jessica, Angela, and Eric were all there – beginning to converge on us, and I couldn't bear to answer any of their questions right now.

"Please, can we just go," I urged.

Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit. Waving with faked enthusiasm to not worry my friends, I followed Charlie out to the parking lot.

For the first time in my life, I was relieved to get into Charlie's police cruiser. We drove in blessed silence, and I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hardly noticed Charlie was there.

When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke.

"You...need to call Renee," he said, hanging his head from guilt.

"Y-You told mom!?"

"I'm sorry, Bells-"

Slamming the door of the police cruiser harder than I meant to from anger, I rushed inside to call her on the house phone. Mom was in hysterics when I called, of course. I had to tell her I felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. For twenty minutes she begged me to come home.

All while Charlie anxiously sat on the couch with a guilty expression.

Her pleas were easier to resist than I might have thought, even though I'd just been nearly crushed to death. Even when she wanted nothing to do with me, I couldn't bear the idea of leaving Forks. I wanted to know how she saved me, why she seemed to care about me, then hate me all over again. Any normal person would be desperate to escape Forks after what happened, but I wasn't normal – and I had to know the truth of what happened.

Reassuring Charlie I was okay was easy in comparison. He reluctantly went back to work, and I went upstairs to take some Tylenol and try to get some sleep.

For hours I lay in bed, replaying the pathetic conversation with Edythe over and over again. The absolute clarity I had in how she had saved me from being crushed by Tyler's blue van. She had saved me, she had been too far away to shove me from danger so fast.

Why do it if she loathed me? If she didn't want to be my friend? When the pain finally eased, and I wasn't tearing up anymore, I drifted off to sleep…

That was the first night I dreamt...of Edythe Cullen.


	5. Chapter Four - The Spring Dance

_._

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

* * *

When sleep finally claimed me, the world was very dark. What dim light there was seemed to be radiating from someone's skin. I couldn't see the face of the girl in my dream, just her back as she walked away from me – leaving me alone in the inky blackness. No matter how fast I ran after her, I couldn't catch up. Regardless of how loudly I shouted, the girl never turned to look at me.

I didn't realize it was even Edythe I dreamt of until I saw the figure, walking away from me, and the surroundings melted into the hospital hallway. Bronze hair perfectly framing her head as she walked away, so fast and with such ease to be far away from me that it punched me in the stomach all over again.

Waking up in a troubled, cold, sweat, I couldn't sleep again for what felt like a very long time. My mind tossing and turning as often as I did under the purple blankets my dad had picked out for me.

Why did I care if Edythe didn't want to be friends with me? If she hated me or found me annoying? It wasn't like she was the hot guy in school and I had been dumped. So what if she was more beautiful than any movie star I'd seen? Alice and Rosalie were also gorgeous; but, I wasn't vexed about not being friends with them!

If punching my pillow could have alleviated any of the stress, I'd have done it more than once. It did no good, she was in my head. Her stupidly perfect tomboyish grin melting into pure venom replayed over and over again in my head. Sometimes it seemed like she wanted to get to know me, and then her friendliness vanished into loathing – it boggled me. Maybe she had been through a lot in her last school? Maybe it was hard and scary for her to make new friends?

Maybe it had something to do with her strange ability to stop vans!? Did she think I was going to forget about that? No! She was going to be asked until she answered me honestly, even if it meant she hated me, I just had to know.

A part of me kept insisting that maybe when I knew how she saved me, I wouldn't keep dreaming about her. Deep down, that was a lie, but I pretended not to notice that. The lie was easier to believe than the truth.

When I fell back asleep, she was there. Always on the periphery, never within my grasp. Walking away from me, running away when I ran after her.

For an entire month after the accident, things were uneasy, tense, and – at first – embarrassing.

To my horror, I found myself to be the center of attention for the entire week. Tyler Crowley was impossible! He wouldn't stop following me around, obsessed with making amends to me. No matter how much I tried to convince him that nothing would make me happier than if he forgot all about it, he wouldn't stop nagging me. He followed me between classes, and sat at the now over-crowded lunch table next. Mike and Eric were even -less- friendly toward him than they were to each other, which made me worry that I'd gained another unwelcome admirer.

What bothered me more than that, even if I couldn't admit it to myself, was that no one was concerned at all about Edythe. Even though I explained over and over that she was the hero who had pulled me to safety and nearly been crushed by the same van, no one seemed to care. Jessica, Mike, Angela, Eric, and everyone else at the lunch table kept commenting that they hadn't seen her there until the van was pulled away.

Why had no one else seen her standing so far away, anyway? Before she was suddenly there, impossibly saving my life? With a great deal of chagrin, I realized to myself the most probable cause – no one else was even aware of Edythe like I was. No one watched her the way I did...and no one cared whether she lived or died. People avoided her like the plague.

No, they avoided her like she didn't exist.

Despite how nice Alice had been to me, and how Edythe had started to talk to me in Biology, they always sat with the Hales at their dreary table by themselves. In the entire week I was followed and asked about the crash, not one person approached Edythe. No crowds followed her around, and I found myself feeling envious of them. I just wanted to disappear, but I lacked the gumption to be a jerk to people to do it.

What hurt me the most about that week, was that none of the Cullens – especially Edythe –, looked my way anymore. They seemed completely unaware of my presence. Only now and then, when her fists would suddenly ball up near her thighs – skin stretched white over the bones – did I wonder if she wasn't quite as oblivious to me as she appeared. Maybe she wished she hadn't saved me? Or I just bothered her so much she regretted ever meeting me.

I wanted to talk to her more than I wanted to breathe, and the day after the accident I tried. What hurt and anger I had over the bad end to our conversation yesterday had melted into gratitude and I wanted to thank her for saving me.

She was already seated when I got to Biology that day, looking straight out the window. When I sat down, I expected her to turn her chair toward me; but, she showed no sign that she even realized I was there.

"Hey, Edythe," I said pleasantly, trying to sound happy to see her without sounding 'too happy'.

She only turned her head, as little as possible to meet my gaze, and nodded once before looking back out the window.

Despite being an idiot and trying to talk to her a few more times during class, unless it was related to the lesson, she didn't acknowledge me. Deep down, maybe I knew why. Maybe it was obvious that I liked her, more than what made sense for me to feel for another girl, and she wanted nothing to do with that.

What could I really do if she -was- okay with that? I wasn't a boy, I couldn't ask her out, I couldn't buy her flowers, I couldn't have real love for her. That wasn't how it was for someone like me. I'd be looked at with disgust forever – the scourge of Forks High. She was probably doing me a kindness by avoiding me, and here I was, ungrateful and distraught to be discarded.

I even resolved myself to that last, courteous, nod as being the only contact I could have with her. Hard as it was to tell myself it was for the best, it was. I wished I didn't obsess over Edythe, I wished even that the van had crushed me so I wouldn't realize how much I wanted to be near her. How disgusting I was to want to hold her hand so badly.

Yet, it was no use. I couldn't help myself from watching her, gazing at her, whenever I knew she couldn't see me do it. In the cafeteria, or across the parking lot, my eyes constantly sought her. I watched as her golden eyes grew perceptibly darker day by day, only to become bright gold again after the weekend.

To say I was miserable was an understatement – miserable had been coming here. This? I didn't even know what to call this, but to leave Forks because of how I felt – an even greater agony I couldn't fathom how to cope with. If I left now, went back to Phoenix or moved to Florida or some other school, my mother – who knew every expression on my face – would know I was miserable. She would ask, and I wouldn't be able to lie, and she would know about Edythe. No, she would know about me, and she wouldn't understand. I couldn't lose my mother, too.

Charlie didn't ask, which made it bearable to keep pretending I didn't have feelings for Edythe, but no matter how much I tried to push her from my mind...the dreams continued.

Despite my outright lies, the tenor of my emails to my mother alone alerted her to my depression. She called me a few times, worriedly, and I tried hard to convince her that it was just the weather that had me down.

"Is it about a boy?" Mom kept bringing up like a throbbing sore.

"No, mom, I'm okay," I would parrot over and over. "There isn't a boy, really."

Renee didn't believe me, of that I was certain, but at some point she stopped asking and I could breathe easy when we talked again. The temptation to tell my mom what happened, to lie to her and make up some male version of her name, toyed at me. But knowing mom, she'd talk to Charlie, and Charlie – knowing there was no such boy in town – would tell her and that can of worms wasn't something I thought I could handle. What would I even call her? Edward? That seemed like a good name, old and outdated as Edythe was.

"Listen, baby-girl, if some boy is hurting you," Oh great, she was talking about it again. "You can talk to me, I know what it's like to be rejected," my eyes widened with anger. Of course I knew that, I'd watched her have a string of failed relationships where I gave her ice cream and watched her sob into a pillow. I didn't want to be that, I didn't want to be weak over some boy – or even some girl. I wasn't going to cry over Edythe like my mother; the indignant burn I felt consumed me and unfortunately, I lashed out.

"Mom, can you please -just- drop it?! There isn't a boy! And if there was, he doesn't matter, okay?!"

Renee was stunned on the other end of the line, so I spoke before she could chide me for using that tone with her. As I'd never really used that tone on her before except during extremely rare circumstances.

"I love you, but this place just takes time to get used to, okay?"

After we hung up, I squeezed my hand into a fist. Feeling the skin stretch over my knuckles. Unable to stop thinking about how often Edythe's hand did the same whenever I did it. Which might be why I was doing it. Catching myself, I softened my hand.

Mike seemed to grow more confident around me over time, maybe because I wasn't going out of my way to tell him I didn't like him that way. Eric and Tyler were still friendly, but it was obvious they were competing for my attention the same way as Mike. I wasn't entirely sure why, until Jessica brought up the girl's choice Spring Dance. Which was only two weeks away, yikes.

The first Tuesday of March was coming fast, but it didn't occur to me that I was a conquest or competition until Jessica cleared her throat and asked: "Is it alright with you if I invite Mike to the Spring Dance?"

Blinking from confusion at -why- I would mind, she seemed just as confused as I was. "Sure, why wouldn't it be?"

"Weren't you...planning on asking him?"

"To the dance? Oh, no, I'm not going to the dance."

Dancing was glaringly outside my range of abilities, the last thing anyone needed was a concussion from me to spoil a party.

"Are you sure? It's gonna be really fun," Jessica insisted, and it was so half-hearted a concern that I just furrowed my eyebrows. Somehow I had some semblance of popularity, and I felt like Jessica fed off of that like a leech more than wanted to be my friend.

"Really, Jess, you have a great time with Mike, and tell me all about it, after," I encouraged as cheerfully as I could.

The next day, though, I saw Jessica walking silently by my side between classes. She had been so excited yesterday, and I had expected her to start gushing out words as soon as she saw me. If Mike had turned her down for the dance, then I was probably the last person she would want to admit that to.

My fears were confirmed during lunch, when Jessica sat as far away from Mike as possible. She chatted animatedly with Eric, and Mike was unusually quiet. He was still quiet as he walked me to class, and I felt like the uncomfortable look on his face mirrored the clouds overhead. Hoping he wouldn't bring up the dance to me, I sat down beside Edythe and scooted in.

Mike didn't walk to his desk, and I was electrically aware of Edythe sitting so close to me. I couldn't bear to look at her face anymore, so my eyes drifted to her hands. She was brushing her fingers over the words of our textbook, but not reading them. Her eyes were still out the window, and if not for Mike, I might have kept gazing at those perfect fingers.

"So," Mike said, looking down to the floor. "Jessica asked me to the Spring Dance."

"That's great," I made my voice sound bright and enthusiastic. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jess."

"Well," he floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response. "I told her I had to think about it."

"Why would you do that?" I asked, allowing disapproval to color my tone, even if I was relieved he hadn't told Jessica a flat-out no.

Mike flushed like a tomato before he looked down again. Pity overtook me, but I couldn't stomach the idea of going to a dance with anyone, much less Mike.

"I...I was wondering if, well, if -you- might be planning to ask me?" He asked, and I couldn't answer.

Hating the wave of guilt that swept through me at Mike's pleading face, for a moment I thought I saw Edythe tilt her head ever so slightly in my direction. Unable to bear the idea of turning my head and seeing her glare, I kept my eyes on Mike as I tried to give him an encouraging smile.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, Mike. I'm not going to the dance."

"Why not?" He demanded, and I bit down on my lip. Torn between explaining the safety hazards of dancing with a klutz, or telling him I just didn't find him attractive, I quickly made a new plan in my head and went with it.

"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday," I explained. Which wasn't -exactly- a lie, as I had wanted to go look for new books. If it meant avoiding a dance – it was the perfect time to go.

"Can't you go some other weekend?" Mike pleaded, and I shook my head.

"No, I've already made plans to go. You should go with Jessica, anyway, she's been talking about you non-stop."

Mike's expression perked up, as though he really hadn't noticed how Jess was into him. "I guess," he said, but I could tell his expression was intrigued.

Watching Mike turn, dejected, to walk back to his seat, I closed my eyes. Pressing my fingertips to my temples to try and push the guilt and sympathy out of my head. Mr. Banner thankfully began talking, so I sighed and opened my eyes to start taking notes.

It surprised me when I thought I saw Edythe watching me, and I turned to see her staring at me curiously. That same familiar edge of frustration even more distant as her black eyes drank me in.

Gazing back at her, because she didn't immediately turn away as she had been doing since the accident, her eyelids narrowed with a pensive intensity. There was no question of me being able to look away from her now, and feeling both ensnared and exhilarated, my hands started to shake.

"Ms. Cullen?" Mr. Banner called, seeking some kind of answer to a question I hadn't even heard.

"The Krebs Cycle," Edythe answered, not turning away from me to look at the teacher.

It felt like she had questions for me, or she wanted to reach out to me, and didn't know rightly how. But when her eyes released me, thankfully before I had broken into a nervous sweat or had cold chills wash over me, my gaze fell on my science book. A book which mattered nothing to me, right now. It was simply a shield, to hide what a coward I was. Here she was, finally giving me her time of day, and I was hiding behind my hair and pretending to read.

Emotions I couldn't comprehend overwhelmed me – pulsed through me like wildfire or lightning – simply because she took a moment to look at me for the first time in almost six weeks. It wasn't fair how she had this level of influence over me, it was pathetic, more than pathetic – it was unhealthy. Desperate not to reveal how fast my heart was beating, how my brain couldn't bear to focus on anything in the lesson because she was a few inches closer to me than normal, I tried not to look at her with everything that I had.

Sometimes, I just squeezed my pencil, just to feel the sting of holding it too hard to have something else to focus on. It didn't work very well, but it was the only lifeline I had.

When the bell rang, I didn't put away my books or the pencil, I just grabbed it all and held it to my chest. Hugging my textbook too tightly, as if it was a security blanket, and hoping she didn't talk to me before I could escape the classroom. Turning my back to her, as I expected her to leave immediately before I even moved from my desk, when she didn't move I froze. Feeling cold and damp, all the heat in my body draining out into the floor.

"Bella?" Her voice shouldn't have been so familiar to me, as if I'd known the sound of her voice my whole life, instead of just a few short weeks.

It wasn't easy to turn to face her – my entire body felt like it was going to topple over; but, I slowly turned to face her. Nothing in me wanted to turn around, because it hurt too badly to look into her eyes only to lose them.

Warily, I watched her expression – which was difficult for me to understand. She didn't say anything to me, and I wasn't sure if it was because she was trying to have pity on me by overthinking what to say, or if she was going to lash out. It seemed easier to beat her to the punch, to snipe at her before she sniped at me.

"What, are you speaking to me, now?"

Her lips twitched, as though she was fighting a smile, and it tied my stomach up into little knots. "No, not really," she admitted.

I closed my eyes, inhaled slowly through my nose, aware that I was gritting my teeth behind my lips. Seconds passed, minutes, I hardly knew – she didn't say anything! Just kept sitting there, saying nothing!

"Then what do you want?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed; it was easier to talk to her coherently this way. Helped me not to be lost in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she began, and it caught me off guard. So off guard I opened my eyes to warily stare at her face. "I'm being very rude, I know...but, it's better this way, really."

Her face was so serious, it shook me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied, really hoping she didn't bring up what I thought she was going to.

"It's better if we're not friends," She explained, and her words shattered me worse than I had imagined they might.

"Trust me," Edythe almost entreated, probably because my eyes were welling up with water. Weak, pathetic, sludge that I was – unable to stop the swelling of my eyes as they filled with fluid and blinded me.

I turned away fast; but, it was too late. She had to have seen my face, I could feel her eyes on me, like sharp daggers clawing up my soul. Hiding behind anger was easier than admitting my heart was broken, even if it was a piss poor excuse to give myself.

"You know what, maybe you should have thought about that before you stopped the van," I blubbered, water was welling up in my throat, passing it off was mere anger seemed impossible now. "Y-you could have saved yourself from all this trouble."

I could vaguely see through my blurred eyelashes. Edythe was astonished, she stared at me in disbelief, but even as I wished I could just storm out right then and there, my feet felt so weak and heavy. They wanted to collapse, drop me into a little ball of shame, which I was far too proud to do, so I just kept standing.

"Do you think I regret saving you?" She asked, her voice almost vehement with anger. Anger I could latch on to.

"I can see that you do, you-"

"You don't know anything," she seethed coolly at me, her antagonistic voice sharp as ice. Why did she sound so insulted?! She acted like I didn't exist!

"How am I going to know anything else when you refuse to talk to me!?" I spat back at her, clenching my jaw against all the wild accusations I wanted to hurl at her.

There were other kids in the room, and they were all staring at me. I couldn't handle Edythe staring at me – but the whole classroom? It was too much, and I swept myself out the door to find the closest dark corner I could hide myself in. Only, I caught my foot on the stupid door jam, and dropped all my books.

Standing there, I debated just leaving without them than being laughed at. But she was there, and Edythe had already stacked my books and things into a pile. Reaching out, I took my books when she handed them to me, staring hard at her cold; frozen, face.

"Thanks..." I breathed, even though the word came out more icy than I wanted them to.

Her eyes narrowed, so I turned, started walking away when she spoke. "You're welcome..."

In my heart I knew I needed to go to gym, but the idea of being seen like this, especially by people who actively talked to me – Mike being one of them – was too painful an idea for me. Turning left instead of right, metaphorically at least, I shoved into the girl's bathroom and found myself relieved that it seemed to be empty. The doors were ajar, I didn't see any feet under the stalls, and I could take a moment to just breathe.

Just breathe and think about that sorry excuse for a conversation that happened before. What did she mean that it was better they weren't friends. Was it because I disgusted her? If so, why didn't she sneer at me, loathe me, why did she even want to talk to me? Speak to me for no reason at all? Was it because I tried to ask her how she saved me? Was she not allowed to tell how she did it?

I had been avoiding that, because it meant talking to Edythe to find out what had happened and she didn't want to talk to me. But the question: why. It haunted me, grated me to my core, and I found myself wishing I could punch something to calm myself. I never was the type, anger usually just made me cry than lash out physically at anything. But no one was here, so I slapped the sink handle on, hissing as pain shot through my arm. I wasn't bleeding, but it would bruise, and the water blazing out of the sink screamed as loudly as my nerves.

"I didn't know someone could hurt themselves on a spigot."

That voice, like rich velvet, haunted me and I looked up from my hand. Edythe was leaning against the side wall of the bathroom, near the corner by the mirror, where it made a little hallway to the door.

She caught me so much by surprise, I couldn't say anything; but, her face went from teasing to serious, and I found myself struck so much by her presence that it was all I could do to turn off the sink without dropping all my books in the water.

"W-what are you doing in here?" I demanded.

She furrowed her brow, still keeping her distance from me. "If you want to talk, we can talk."

"Really?" I asked in disbelief, trying to stay angry – stay mad – but her mere presence in the same room made my heart do strange flips in my chest. "Why do you want to talk now? What is even the point if you don't want to be friends with me?"

She looked torn, conflicted, but she didn't answer. The silence was defeaning, so I broke it after shoving all my books in my backpack. Spurred on by the throbbing in my hand. "I know you saved me, I don't know -how- you did, but you did."

Edythe cleared her throat. "I had an 'adrenaline rush', you can google it."

"That doesn't explain your eyes," I started, and she narrowed her eyes and interrupted me.

"Pray, what about my eyes upsets you?"

Nothing, honestly. My brain hurt trying to think of an answer. "They don't. Upset me, I mean."

She scoffed out her nose, irritatedly.

"But they change color, you're...more moody when your eyes are dark like they are now."

Edythe shrugged, shaking her head. "Florescents effect my eyes differently." She sighed again. "What do my eyes matter, what is the point you are trying to make."

"I know you stopped the van. You pushed it away with your hand.."

Her eyes narrowed, staring hard at me. "Well, no one is going to believe you, Bella."

Feeling my hands clench into fists, I couldn't bear to look down from her eyes to see if her fists were balled up too. "I wasn't going to tell anybody...I just need to know...the truth."

"Can't you just thank me and be over it?" It wasn't the first time she'd said those words, or in the very least, it didn't feel like the first time.

Shoving my backpack on one of the dry sinks, my eyelids flickered as I tried to think of a good answer to that. "Thank you."

We stared at each other, for long enough that it was an uncomfortable silence, before she sighed. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"You should be walking around in a cast, not" – she crossed her arms over her chest. The way her arms hugged herself, white sweater bunching up around her perfectly covered cleavage, made me freeze from surprise at how beautiful her figure really was.

"Are you really going to Seattle on Saturday?"

The question stunned me, it was so completely off topic that I -knew- she was trying to distract me from the obvious. I narrowed my eyes at her, even as her continued eye-contact sent chills down my spine. "Why do you care?"

"Just answer the question, please," she entreated, her velvet tone so hard to resist.

"Why? You don't answer any of mine."

"Mike really likes you, you're actually very popular with the boys here. Are you not interested in any of them?"

My chest hurt, I felt sick to my stomach. Why did she care, why did her face look pained? She confused me, and the confusion hit me like a train. "Why do you keep asking me questions if you don't want to be friends?"

She exhaled, slowly, and walked a half-step closer to me. "I only said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be..."

"What does that mean?" I asked, blinking to try and dispel anymore anger tears from threatening to build again from the confusion.

"It means 'if you were smart, you'd stay away from me'," Edythe said, her delicate looking, long, fingers brushing against the wall near the mirror.

"Okay, well, lets say for 'argument's sake' that I'm not smart...will you tell me the truth?"

She shook her head gently at me. "No, probably not."

What did she even mean by 'probably'. Not wanting to leave, even with our voices echoing in girl's bathroom, the awkwardness of having this kind of a talk where it might be overheard made me very uncomfortable. I didn't realize before how much this bathroom seemed to echo, and maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt like her voice was coming at me from all sides. Her stupidly perfect, velvet, voice.

"You know, friends are honest with each other, if you can't be honest with me, then-"

She moved closer, and interrupted me. "-I would rather hear your theories. How do you think I stopped the van?"

Leaning against one of the bathroom sinks, the counter actually, I leaned backfor the sake of comfort and studied her face for the longest time. She looked smug, as though this was a game and I could never actually win.

"I don't know – I guess if I really had to narrow it down, I've considered...radioactive spiders, or kryptonite...that you have super powers."

Edythe scowled wryly in amusement, before she frowned and hugged herself again. I looked down at the ground, to not look at her chest or waist on accident.

"Ah, super heros," she said, her voice dry, no longer as playfully amused. "Well...what if I'm not the hero..." She paused, and I looked up when I felt her gaze linger on my face. "What if I'm...the bad guy?"

If it was possible to give her a dumber look, I would have. "You're not. You saved me, when you didn't have to. You gained -nothing- from saving me."

"That's not true," she began, but stopped – to my great frustration.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't mean anything," Edythe said, and I knew in my heart that wasn't true. But I wasn't bold enough to say the elephant in the room, and if she didn't, maybe we never would.

"Whatever you need to say, or do, to use as an excuse to keep people away from you – you don't need to do that with me. If you want to be friends, we can just...I don't know, hang out."

She furrowed her brows, hardened her lips into a firm line. "We shouldn't."

I knew why, she knew why, but that couldn't stop me from trying. "Why not? Is it your family?"

"No," Edythe said, shaking her head; perfect bronze hair brushing against her face in a tusstle. "Alice likes you, the others just don't know you."

"Then we can hang out, if you want to."

Edythe avoided eye-contact, watching her own reflection in the bathroom mirror. "You haven't answered my questions, yet."

"Which one?"

"Saturday, the Spring Dance...Why do you need to go to Seattle? Do you...not like any of the guys here?"

"Why do you care so much?"

She swallowed uncomfortably. "Can you just answer the question."

"I can't dance. Last time I tried, I broke an arm... I really don't want to break someone's nose."

Edythe laughed, she laughed heartily and loud, and even made something that sounded like a snort, but was too pleasant a sound to find displeasing. But even so, I hated being laughed at, and I could feel my eyes narrowing.

I glared at her, because she kept giggling instead of saying something. "Happy, now?"

"Completely," she said, but then offered me a wry, tomboyish, smile. "But that's hardly a reason not to go, if you wanted to go with someone."

Why was she not letting this go? Hope filled me, even though I knew there wasn't a reason beyond 'most girls are interested in dances' for Edythe to ask me about it. "We're missing class."

She raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather be in Gym?"

I blinked, indignantly. "Who told you I was in Gym for sixth period?"

She scoffed, smugly. "It's a small school. Plus, you leave the cafeteria every day on the way to your car."

Something seemed off, but I couldn't place what that was. "Have you been following me?"

She looked uncomfortable, and scoffed with irritation as she slid her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. "Don't be ridiculous."

When I kept staring at her, demanding to know more, she stepped backward and turned away from me to watch the floor. I couldn't really be angry at her if she was following me, after all, I tended to keep an eye out for her, too. I couldn't help myself, but I didn't know how to breach the subject. The way she kept staring at me with curiosity and intensity today didn't make it any easier to forget how she affected me.

"I have to go," Edythe finally spat out, in her silken tones. Her curious eyes looming on my face for one long moment before she started for the door.

"Wait..."

She stopped, half-turning her head at me. "Yes?"

My tongue suddenly swelled, and I forgot how to speak with her eyes so keenly focused on my own. So hungry to understand me.

When I couldn't speak, she started moving. "M-maybe we can just, hang out, sometime?" I looked around. "Not in a bathroom..."

Edythe's gaze softened, her mouth curled into a crooked half-grin, just bold enough that I felt weak in my knees. "Sure, see you later."

It was probably good that she left, my face was so red from embarrassment that it took me another ten minutes splashing my face in the sink to brace myself before I went to Gym. Which of course was a disaster. We'd moved on to basketball, and while my team never passed me the ball – which was good – I fell down a lot. Sometimes, when I fell, I took other students down with me. I couldn't get my head into the game, my mind kept thinking about Edythe instead of where my feet should go. What balance I had being shot, I think even Mike left the gym with a bruise on his knee.

It was a relief, as always, to leave Gym, and I nearly ran for my truck – but the idea that maybe Edythe was waiting for me made me stay put outside the door and look for her. I didn't see her, but I did see her car, and I could only hope that she would come out soon. Not that it would make any difference if we gave each other a final goodbye wave, but it was of great importance to me, nonetheless. When she didn't show up right away, and I saw some faces I had hoped to avoid, I started on toward my car.

The Beast was mostly undamaged from the accident, with the exception of needing to replace the taillights. The paint job was so old and faded, it seemed pointless to dress him up with fresh paint when the rest of him looked dingy. Tyler's parents probably sold his van for parts, since I didn't see him drive it again and it was smashed up pretty bad from Edythe's hands shoving it away from us.

So it was that I almost had a stroke when I rounded the truck and saw a tall, dark, figure leaning against the driver's side door. As soon as I saw it was just Eric, I started walking again.

"Jeeze, Eric, you scared me."

He chuckled, awkwardly. "Hey, Bella, sorry."

"What's up?" I asked as I tugged my key in the door to unlock it. Had I been paying attention to the uncomfortable edge in his voice, his next words wouldn't have taken me so completely by surprise.

"Uh, I was, uh...just wondering...if you would go to the Spring Dance with me?" His voice broke into a high-pitched squeak at the last word. Oh no…

"I thought it was a girl's choice dance?" I asked, too startled by the question to be diplomatic in my answer.

"Uhm, yeah, it is," he admitted with shame and embarrassment.

When I recovered my composure, I tried really hard to make my smile warm and inviting. "Thanks for asking me; but, I'm going to be in Seattle that day, so I can't go anyway."

"Oh," he replied, dejected. "Well, maybe next time?"

"Sure," I agreed, and instantly regret what I said. Please, if there is a God, he wouldn't take that word too literally.

Eric slouched as he walked away, back toward the school. Opening my car door, I was about to slide inside when I heard a chuckle. A very familiar sounding, alto, chuckle. Edythe was walking past the front of my truck, looking straight ahead, her lips pressed together. Jumping inside my truck, embarrassed that Edythe had overheard that, I turned on the engine and backed out into the aisle of the parking lot. My engine loudly screaming with life as I prepared to start driving – only to step on the breaks.

Edythe was in her car already, two spaces down, and she had just slid her car out in front of mine with expert grace – completely cutting me off! The parking lot was too crowded and small to pull around her to leave campus. She just stopped there – no doubt to wait for her family, who were walking this way. With worry, I realized there was a line forming behind me of other teens wanting to go home, but Edythe's volvo wasn't moving.

Directly behind me, Tyler was in his recently acquired old Sentra, waving at me, but I was too stressed out and aggrevated to acknowledge him.

While I was sitting there, looking everywhere but at the car in front of me, I heard a knock on my passenger side door. Glancing over, I saw Tyler there waving at me. One quick look to my rearview mirror revealed that his car was still beside me, and it was still running, with the door left open. Leaning across the cab, I rolled the window down half way and gave up.

"Sorry Tyler, I'm stuck til they move," I said, pointing at the silver Volvo in front of me. Annoyance filled me, as I hated that I was being treated like I was responsible for this hold up in the line when I wasn't. People were already starting to honk behind Tyler's car.

"Oh, I know – I just wanted to ask you something, while we're trapped here," he grinned, and I felt my stomach grumble with nausea.

This could -not- be happening.

"Will you ask me to go with you to the Spring Dance?"

Good Lord, it was. "I'm not going to be in town, then, Tyler," my voice was sharper than I meant it to be. I had to force myself to remember that it wasn't his fault that Mike and Eric had used up my quota of patience for this question.

"Yeah, Mike said that," he admitted.

I couldn't help it and seethed at him, hardening my mouth in a firm line. "Then why are you asking me?"

He shrugged. "I was hoping you were just letting him down easy."

"Sorry, Tyler," I said, working to hide my irritation, but given the worry in his eyes he probably saw it. "I really am going out of town."

"That's cool. We still have Prom, after all."

He walked away before my eyes got a chance to fill with the rage of irritation that I felt, which was perhaps a mercy to him. My whole face felt like it was on fire – what was it with all the boys here? Why were they all wanting to go to this stupid dance -with me- anyway?

The shock kept plastering my face as I looked forward to see all the Cullens – Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper, sliding into Edythe's Volvo. In her rearview mirror, Edythe had her eyes on me. She was unquestionably shaking with laughter, as if she had been able to hear everything that Tyler had said to me and found it hilarious. What was so funny about this?! A part of me was tempted to hit the gas and ruin the back of her bumper; but, there were too many witnesses here.

Just when the temptation to ruin the silver paint on that car made me rev my truck's engine, they sped away, and I carefully drove home. Muttering to myself angrily the whole way to Thriftway grocery store.

When I got home with ingredients, I decided to make chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight instead of tomorrow. It was a long process, and it would distract me. While I was simmering onions and green chilies, the phone rang. I was almost afraid to answer it; but, it might be Charlie or my mom.

It was Jessica, and she was ecstatic. Mike had caught her after school to accept her invitation to the Spring Dance. With relief, I celebrated with her briefly while I stirred the contents of the saucepan. Never one to talk for long hours on the phone, I encouraged her to call Angela and Lauren to tell them. Even suggesting – with casual innocense – that Angela, the shy girl who had Biology with me, could ask Eric to the dance. Lauren, who was a standoffish girl who had always ignored me at the lunch table, could ask Tyler since I heard he was still available. Jess seemed to think those were brilliant ideas, and now that she was sure of Mike, she actually sounded sincere when she wished I would go to the dance. I gave her the same Seattle excuse that I had been spewing forth all day.

After I hung up, I tried to concentrate on dinner – dicing the chicken to be precise; but, I didn't want to take another trip to the emergency room. My head was spinning, trying to over-analyze every word Edythe had said today. What did she mean by 'it's better if we aren't friends?' Why keep bringing up who I'm going to the Spring Dance with?

My stomach twisted as the reminder of what she could have meant swam over me. She clearly must see how absorbed I was by her, and she must not want to lead me on. What could we really do, anyway? She was a girl, I was a girl, how I felt wasn't okay – the shame I felt was more than I could bear...and I could only imagine how embarrassing it would be if Edythe called me out on how wrong and broken I was. Of course she wasn't interested in me – gross, weird, Bella.

It scared me how bold of an interest I even had, for anyone – much less a girl – given that I had never been interested in anyone before.

I had no choice, really. Either I left her alone, pretended I didn't feel what I felt, so we could both go on with our lives without horrifying embarrassment and shame, or she would be my friend for a little while...find out that I felt more than admiration...and end the friendship more painfully then. I only had to be here for a while, so I would get through my self-imposed sentence of purgatory and then hopefully go to some college in the southwest – maybe even Hawaii would offer me a scholarship. I focused on daydreaming of palm tree leaves swaying in the breeze as I finished setting up the enchiladas and put them in the oven.

Charlie seemed to be suspicious when he came home and smelled green peppers; but, I couldn't really blame him. There wasn't a mexican restaurant around here, at least none that I knew about. However, being as he was the police chief, even if it was just a small town role, he was brave enough to take the first bite. He seemed to like it, which cheered me considerably. It was fun to watch as he began to trust me in the kitchen, and it was nice to make Charlie's day. We weren't as close as mom and I, but that didn't mean his opinion didn't matter to me.

"Hey, Dad?" I asked when we were almost done eating.

"Yeah, Bella?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I want to go to Seattle in two weeks. A week from Saturday, if that's okay?" I didn't want to ask permission, as I felt it set a bad precedent, but it felt rude not to when he -was- my father.

"Why?" He sounded so surprised, as if he were unable to imagine something that Forks couldn't offer.

"I just wanted to get a few new books – the library here is really limited – and maybe look for some new clothes," I had more money than I was used to having, since Charlie had bought me the Beast. Not that the truck didn't cost me a heaping helping in the gas department.

Charlie grimaced mildly, finishing a bite. "That truck doesn't get very good gas mileage," he mentioned, echoing my thoughts.

"I know, I'll stop in Montesano and Olympia – Tacoma if I have to."

"Are you going by yourself?" He asked, and I couldn't tell if he was suspicious I had a secret boyfriend, or just worried about car trouble.

"Yeah."

"Seattle is a big city – you could get lost," he fretted, and it felt strange to hear his concern.

"Dad, Phoenix is five times the size of Seattle. I can read a map, and call you if anything happens."

He paused for a moment. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Horror filled me at the thought of being alone with Charlie for hours in the police cruiser, and then having my dad around while I shopped.

"Well, I mean, if you -want- to, but I'm probably going to be in dressing rooms all day. I wouldn't want you to be bored."

His mustache twitched, and he scowled at me. "I don't like the idea of you going alone in that truck."

"I'll be okay, really, I've been in worse scrapes than shopping by myself."

Charlie's expression waned, and I didn't know exactly what he thought about, but he gave the matter some thought and nodded. "Call me when you get to Seattle, and before you head home."

I smiled at him. "Course, thanks Dad."

Just when I felt safe to finish the last of my plate, he spoke again. "Will you be back in time for the dance?"

Oh God...only in a town this small would a father know when the high school dances were. Horror filled me, all over again, and I set down my fork.

"No – I mean, I don't dance anymore, Dad," I explained. He, of all people in the world, should understand that. After all, I didn't get my balance problems from Mom.

He did understand, and cleared his throat with a chuckle. "Oh, that's right," he realized, and the subject changed before he went back to watching TV, and I went upstairs to work on my homework.

The next morning, when I pulled into the parking lot, I deliberately parked as far away as possible from Edythe's familiar silver Volvo. More or less because I didn't want anyone to notice how I felt, especially her. Clamboring out of the Beast, rain already drizzling, I fumbled with my car keys to lock it when they shot out of my hand. With all the grace I had been blessed with, my keys flew right toward a puddle of mud – only to stop with a swishing sound because a white flash caught them. The surprise jerked me upright – Edythe was right next to me, leaning casually against my truck.

"How do you do that?" I asked with amazed irritation.

"Do what?" She held out my keys as she spoke. As I reached for them, she dropped it into my palm.

"Just...I don't know, 'appear' out of thin air?"

Especially when I had parked this far out to avoid her…

"Bella, it's not -my- fault that you are exceptionally spastic," she teased, her velvet tones quiet and muted.

Scowling at her perfect face, her eyes were light again today – a deep, golden-honey color. Losing myself, when I finally snapped back to reality I had to look down, to reassemble my thoughts.

Rain, it was raining, we were getting wet. I started walking away from the Beast and she casually padded with me.

"So, what was with that traffic jam yesterday?" I demanded, intentionally looking away from her face.

"A little bird told me Tyler wanted to ask you to the dance, I had to give him his chance," she said with a bemused snicker.

My eyes narrowed. So she stopped on purpose – not for her family, but because she enjoyed seeing me flustered and embarrassed?

"You..." I gasped, grimacing, not able to think of a bad enough word I felt comfortable saying to her. The heat of my anger felt like boiling under my skin, but this – of course – added to her entertainment.

"What?"

Something like a growl seethed from my lips. "Are you – trying – to irritate me to death?"

To my chagrin, Edythe chuckled – loud and heartily before she stopped. "Of all the things most likely to kill you, I doubt irritation is high on the list."

For a moment, I stopped walking and looked at her square in the eye. "You wanna bet?"

Edythe practically snorted trying not to laugh. Her palm covered her mouth, and when it moved a cheeky half-grin was slathered over her mouth. "Oh, Bella, you are utterly absurd."

It was strange how strongly my palms tingled; how badly I wanted to hit something. I loathed being laughed at, teased, and since I met Edythe I couldn't remember being this angry. Clearly, I was some joke to her, someone she could mock and tease, and I hated her stupidly beautiful laughter completely in that moment.

"Ugh..." I huffed, not able to think of anything better to say or do before I stormed off.

Her irritatingly fast feet easily caught up with mine. "I'm sorry – that was rude of me," she said with sweetness to her tone, and I ignored her as we walked. "I'm not saying it isn't true," she continued. "But, it was rude of me to point it out."

My feet came to a halt. "What do you want, Edythe? Did you just waltz over to make fun of me?"

Expecting her to snicker, hot air puffed from my nose when she scowled worriedly at me. "I wanted to ask you something, but you side-tracked me," she said with a quiet chuckle. Her good humor returning when curiosity began to wane my anger.

"Well, I was wondering, if..." Edythe stopped, taking my jacket-covered wrist in her hand, and tugged me behind one of the buildings. Alone with her, almost falling over on my face from the unexpected detour, continued. "I was wondering, if...a week from Saturday – on the day of the Spring Dance..."

Any person might feel elated that a person they were obsessed with possibly asking them to a dance; but, she was a girl and I was a girl – we couldn't be seen in public together! She couldn't possibly like me that way! So why was she bringing it up? Was this some kind of sick joke? Clips of 'Carrie' filled my head, of the poor girl being at prom with pig's blood falling all over her. That was the kind of thing I expected, and fear paralized me enough that I was desperate to stop her from talking.

"S-stop – stop talking, p-please." She did, but confusion splashed onto her face, her confusion hurt me, but I couldn't stop the words from rambling out of me. "W-what are you doing? I-is this some kind of sick joke?"

Her face looked as stunned and mortified as I felt, stupidly painful tears pricked at my eyes as I couldn't bear to keep looking at her perfect face. She couldn't possibly -mean- to invite me to a dance, we couldn't possibly go together. No one valued or approved that sort of thing, and the idea that she could even -suggest- being my date in this small-town, gossip-heavy, climate tortured me.

Biting my lip too hard to try desperately not to keep welling up tears like a moron, I tugged my arm and tried to storm off. She didn't let me go, and my clumsy feet fumbled on the cement with a comically loud squeak of my shoes.

Strong, delicate, hands caught me. Everything in me shook with sharp zaps of electricity at being in any way held by Edythe. Being so close, in her arms, even for a second was too much for me to handle. I didn't cry like a baby, thankfully, but the water remained, pain remained. It didn't matter how good it felt to be near her – I couldn't be. We shouldn't be this close to each other, I was sick – demented – my dad would send me away to some purity school if he found out about us.

She didn't let me go, but she seemed to be shaking, too. Cautiously, I looked up at her through the veil of my dark brown hair, and she wasn't breathing. She seethed; frozen, and I found myself to be terrified at what looked like complete hatred and disgust.

She knew, she knew how I felt, and she hated it. I was just a novelty to her, the same as I was to the guys at this school. What better to talk about than an exchange student from Phoenix? A gay exchange student from Phoenix. The word sickened me. _Gay_. No, I wasn't gay – I couldn't be gay. Lying to myself was the only thing I could do, because that word was used so negatively that it shamed me to use that word to describe myself with.

But still she didn't let me go, even as she helped me to stand back up, and moved as far away from me as her arm could reach. Was it a moment? Ten minutes? It felt like she had held me forever, and it wasn't enough. I wanted to be back in her arms, and it crushed my soul so much that I tugged away pathetically at the grip she had on my arm. To think, she wasn't even touching my skin, and I was fumbling into a sad, disgusting, mess.

What were we even talking about?

Oh, right, me. The joke.

"W-we need to get to class," I finally croaked, my wet and watery voice exposing me.

Edythe stayed very still, still holding her breath, before she let go of my arm. I shook; trembling like a leaf. Desperate to not be tortured, I started to turn, and her voice halted me.

"Bella, wait," she entreated, so softly, but my heart was wounded.

"What?" I asked, with far more venom than I felt. All in the effort to cover my voice from sounding wet and sapy.

She hesitated. "When you go to Seattle, that day, would you like a ride?"

Confusion floored me. "A ride?"

Edythe softly nodded. "Your truck can't possibly get very far without burning a hole in your wallet."

For some reason, I felt a strong need to defend my poor Beast. "He'll be fine."

She clamped her eyes shut, and I could tell she was irritated; but, she rubbed her temple and continued anyway. "Bella, I'm asking if you want to drive to Seattle...with me."

Was she asking to hang out, as friends? My muscles relaxed, and for a moment I could pretend I hadn't just humiliated myself. She -was- trying to be my friend, not put me out on display as the freak of Forks high. Guilt struck me, for thinking so badly of her. I wasn't entirely sure why I had assumed the worst; but, I have always been on the pessimistic side of the spectrum.

"Oh," was all I could muster to say from surprise. "Don't you want to go to the dance?"

My brain did not compute, and I could feel my eyes blinking fast; trying desperately to recover my senses from the confusion soaking my brain to mush.

Edythe giggled, of all sounds, and her chuckle made my stomach twist all over again. "Not really, we get enough crowds at school – don't we?"

I swallowed, but the knot in my throat didn't go away. "W-well, if you're sure you don't want to go..."

She touched my hand, and icy flames flew through my nerves, rendering me speechless.

"I'm sure," She reassured me, her mouth held half-open as though she wanted to say something else...but the bell rang.

We were going to be late to class if we didn't move. My eyes lifted to hers, and she gazed back at me in silence. She was gazing at me pensively, hung between happiness and sadness, and I couldn't tell which one was stronger.

"Class..." she whispered, before she floated away from me and vanished around the corner.

Leaving me alone, in the rain, wishing she hadn't left and we could have stayed in that moment a little longer…


	6. Chapter Five - Blood Type

_So this chapter ended up having a ton of changes. Mostly because with the way Edythe was raised differently than Edward, there are new issues that spring forth, and things that are a lot softer and less abusive or controlling as a guy raised back in that time period might have turned out to be. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I know it's ridiculously huge, but it should tide you guys over or a couple days haha. Much love, Bela._

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

* * *

Mr. Mason, nay the whole class, looked up at me when I walked in late to English. My head was in such a daze that I didn't realize just how slow I was. Half-soaked through from standing out in the rain, I could feel their eyes wondering why I was so drenched in this ridiculously cold weather.

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Swan," Mr. Mason said in a disparaging tone of voice.

My face flushed, and I hurried to my seat.

Shivering for half the class until the heat of the room warmed my body, I didn't realize right away that Mike wasn't sitting in his usual seat beside me. If not for him answering a question, I wouldn't have known that he intentionally didn't sit by me. Guilt plucked at me; but, he and Eric met me at the door as usual, so I figured I wasn't totally unforgivable. Mike seemed to become more himself as we walked, gaining enthusiasm as he talked about the weather report for this weekend. The rain was supposed to take a minor break, and so maybe his planned beach trip this weekend would be possible. I tried too hard to sound eager, to make up for disappointing him yesterday. It wasn't genuine...rain or shine, it would only be in the high forties, if we were lucky, and that really didn't entice me to want to go to a beach and splash around.

The rest of the morning passed by in a blur to me.

It was difficult to accept that I hadn't just imagined what Edythe had said, the way her eyes had looked. Maybe this was just a really convincing, weird, dream that I'd confused with reality. When she held me, I swore we had a connection. She had sought me out, on purpose, to ask us to be alone.

Wait, we would be alone.

Oh no, we couldn't be – alone – together. Alone _together._

Right before lunch, it hit me, and I couldn't focus on anything else. Why was she asking me to be alone? Did she not realize how she effected me? Maybe I -was- giving her too much credit, and she just wanted to be friends, and she wasn't used to making friends. Yeah, that sounded reasonable, but it didn't do anything to dispel the panic. She was going to see me alone, which meant I was going to blush, flush into a red giant ball, and she was going to laugh at me. Then be disgusted with me.

It seemed like the right thing to do was to go back to her and tell her I couldn't go, but then I would have to explain -why- I couldn't go, and nothing I could come up with sounded like a convincing enough reason. Why can't you go, Bella? Because I like you? I might as well trip down the stairs, go to the hospital to avoid going out with her, but her dad was the head doctor at the hospital...she'd probably have free reign to find me in any hospital room and demand to know how I hurt myself.

I was so impatient and nervous, that when Jessica and I entered the Cafeteria I darted my eyes to the Cullen's table and ignored everything Jess was saying. Almost desperate to see Edythe's face, to see if she'd go back to that cold, indifferent, person I'd known for the last several weeks. Jessica babbled on and on about her dance plans – Lauren and Angela had asked the other boys, and they were all going together – completely unaware that I wasn't listening anymore.

Disappointment flooded through me as my eyes unerringly focused on their table. The other four were there; but, Edythe was gone. Had she gone home? Following the still-babbling Jessica through the line on autopilot, my heart was wrenched in my chest. It crushed me to see her gone, and I lost whatever appetite I had. Buying nothing but a bottle of lemonade, for the sake of being able to think later, I just wanted to go sit down at one of the corner tables and sulk.

Jessica pinched my arm, though, and I turned away from watching the Cullen's table to look at her.

"What is she doing there…" Jessica asked, and in confusion I turned to look at the usual table, and froze.

Edythe was sitting alone at our table, and when she saw us notice her she raised her hand to wave her hand in a perfect flourish of movement. When that didn't work, she gestured with her pointer finger – straight at me – as though to make it glaringly obvious that she wanted me to come sit with her.

"I...I don't know," I sputtered to Jessica, who was – for once – rendered speechless.

Jessica, for some reason, looked like the flesh might melt off of her face. Lauren was soon standing next to her, and both of them did -not- want Edythe there. Maybe because she was so gorgeous? Were they worried that she would steal the attention of Mike and Eric? It seemed to be a genuine concern, and Lauren confirmed my suspicions as she hissed a comment loud enough for me to hear.

"Ugh, who does she think she is?" She gagged, and Jessica giggled. "If she looks at Tyler, I swear to God, I will jam my heel into her nose."

Really uncomfortable hearing my 'friends' talk so venomously about Edythe, I had to say something and I turned to look at them with concern on my face. "Come on, guys, she's my friend."

The glare of confused anger when two girls pinned directly on my face made me flush uncomfortably. Too upset to my stomach to speak, I just awkwardly turned and walked to our table.

Edythe sat up when I approached, and she seemed to be waiting for me to say something. The silence stretched on and on before she spoke.

"Good afternoon, I thought I would join you, today. If your friends don't mind, of course," Edythe said, and I looked over at Jessica and Lauren. They obviously minded, but were too proud to admit it when I had just defended her.

"Sure, why don't you join us..." Jessica said, sitting down away from her and me, beside Lauren.

I didn't want to sit too close to Edythe, so I sat across from her. Feeling others sitting next to me, Angela was on my left, and Mike was on my right.

Both of them were too stunned to say anything, even eat. Not that I could eat either...

Edythe watched the awkward and uncomfortable silence stretch on until another person scooted into the seat beside her. With surprise, I took in Alice's warm eyes and cheerful features as she giggled to break the ice.

"Goodness, it's so cold today," Alice teased, and I looked beside me to see that Mike was stunned. His mouth was hanging open in complete confusion to why two gorgeous Cullens were sitting -here- at our table.

Which unfortunately worsened the scowl on Jessica's face, and she kept staring at Lauren with secret looks. Maybe even glaring at me, but I wasn't looking at her anymore. Edythe just kept staring at me, saying nothing, and Alice seemed to be gaily amused at the response of the table.

"Y-yeah, cold," I finally blubbered, blinking too much from how stupid that comment was.

Alice turned to Jessica, perhaps on purpose, with a glowing fairy smile. "So, I hear you're going with Mike to the Spring Dance, maybe we could all carpool? My father has a coupon to rent a limousine," she said, swaying back and forth, almost like a ballerina snake that was plotting something.

Jessica blinked now, stunned. The idea of being in a limo was clearly too pleasant an idea to stay mad at this change in seating arrangements, and she looked over at Lauren – who looked eager, and suspicious.

Mike was still unable to talk, Alice and Edythe were gorgeous, he was still in shock.

"Really? A limo?" Jessica parroted. "I mean, that would be cool; but, you know this is just the spring dance, right? Limos are more for Prom..."

Alice giggled then, shaking her head playfully to let her pixie hair float like flower petals in the breeze around her face. "I suppose you're right, but I am awfully excited about the dance. I've been trying to get Edythe to go, but she doesn't have a date."

The hate that burned off Edythe's face as she looked at Alice could have melted the flesh off of her face. Desperate to rescue her, before all the guys who joined us at the table garnered the courage to ask her, I intervened.

"W-who says she needs a date? If she wants to go, she doesn't need a man to go," Edythe's affectionate eyes found me, and I felt my stomach knot. "B-besides, everyone here already has a date."

Alice giggled again, grinning sheepishly as she opened a can of Pepsi and seemingly took a drink. When the can was set down, it was just as full as when she opened it though, unless I was imagining things.

Somewhere in my heart I knew that a small part of Tyler, Mike, and Eric wished they had been single – even though I felt in my stomach they wouldn't have been bold enough to ask out Edythe Cullen. When I turned to look at Mike, to my right, he looked about mortified.

"Hey...you okay?"

Mike blinked, snapping back to reality. "What?"

Jessica scowled, and I turned to look back at Mike, who was sending Jessica an apologetic look.

"I went to plenty of dances at my old school, Alice. Besides, I already made plans that Saturday," Edythe mentioned, and fear rippled through me as Alice grinned like a naughty Keebler elf – clearly knowing all about this morning somehow.

Oh no…she wasn't going to out me in front of all these boys was she? Feeling sick, I looked down at my lemonade and reluctantly opened it.

"Bella's going to Seattle, and her truck doesn't have good mileage, so I offered her a ride," Edythe said, and I instantly relaxed. Even if I did have a sinking feeling that Mike and Tyler were kicking themselves for not having thought of asking me first. Unable to deny my curiosity, I looked, and Tyler was scowling. Mike seemed to be scowling too, but there was nothing they could do or say now without risking the loss of their dance partners.

Jessica relaxed, at least enough to pleasantly smile at Alice. "Well, if the offers still on the table, I can give you my number, but there's no pressure."

"Y-yeah w-we don't need a limo..." Angela squeaked.

Eric felt inclined to get up and move to sit between Angela and Jessica, and Angela seemed to glow behind her glasses. So, naturally, Jessica started looking at Mike as though hoping he would do the same. He didn't get the message, as he was moodily stabbing his food with a plastic fork.

I couldn't help but chuckle, even though all I felt able to do was hold my opened bottle of lemonade in my palms and occasionally meet Edythe's gaze when she looked at me.

Everyone seemed to really warm up to Alice, not that there was anything that wasn't exceptionally kind and wonderful about her. It might have something to do with the fact that Alice had a boyfriend – Jasper Hale, who looked like he was grimacing in pain whenever I snuck a peek at their family table.

I wondered why he didn't come join us, after all, he always sat next to Alice during lunchtime. He looked wary whenever his eyes met my own, concerned when he looked toward Edythe, and he seemed to be muttering constantly to his sister Rosalie. The gorgeous, tall, honey-blonde girl who glared at me, at her sister, glared all the time the longer lunch went on.

It started to make me uncomfortable, nervous, and honestly a little terrified. I didn't want Rosalie to hate me, and I couldn't understand why she kept giving venomous looks our way. Sometimes her boyfriend, Emmett, laughed heartily and pushed Rosalie to try and make her laugh, and it only seemed to sour her mood further.

I might have kept staring at Rosalie's glaring and Jasper's concern, if not for feeling something brush against my foot under the table. Turning my head back around, Edythe had a questioning look on her face, and I peeked under the table to see her black Doc Martin ankle boot tapping against my sneaker under the table. Just barely brushing against mine, as her jeans hid about half her shoe from view at this angle.

When I flushed, Alice spoke again, maybe on purpose to distract my friends from noticing. "So, the bell is going to ring, I'll see if my dad can reserve us a limo for the dance, and get back to you tomorrow," Alice said warmly as she stood, took her can of Pepsi – which was still full – and tossed it in the trash.

Edythe looked at me while everyone else seemed to be pouting that Alice was leaving, promising to save her a seat for tomorrow. I couldn't look away, but that drew attention, so I forced myself to stare into the bottle of my half drunk lemonade.

"Bella, are you ready to go?"

My eyes raised, watching Edythe's own radiant orbs. "Yeah, sure."

Walking beside Edythe, hands in my pockets as we left the cafeteria, we walked fairly close to each other. She didn't brush against me, I tried not to brush against her. Not sure how to process what felt like the longest, most taxing, lunch period I could remember having.

"So," I started, in an effort to break the silence. "What made you want to sit at our table today?"

She slowed her pace, thinking before she answered. "I thought if I asked you to sit with me, your friends would want revenge for stealing you."

My eyes lingered on her feet, then trailed back up her jeans, white sweater, and back to her face. "I think your family wants revenge, instead," I said as a joke, but it failed to hide my concern.

She stopped walking. "We don't usually make friends, it's weird for them...but Alice is fond of you, she thinks you're a good influence on me."

I stopped, too. "Am I?"

Her mouth curled into her devilish half-grin. "No, probably not."

Edythe laughed and I joined her, starting to walk slow toward Biology again.

"But then, I figure if I'm going to hell, I may as well do it thoroughly."

She stopped walking then, a serious look in her eyes as her perfect teeth nibbled apprehensively on her bottom lip. I found myself staring, biting my own lip unconsciously before her eyes were too great a pull to ignore. Her words made no sense to me, or they made too much sense, either way – I feared what they meant. She looked like she was trying to tell me something, and waiting desperately for me to answer her back.

"What do you mean?"

Disappointment molded Edythe's expression, washing her morose, and I felt guilt that I didn't give the answer she must have been hoping to hear from me. The pain was gone so fast I wasn't sure if I had imagined it, and she chuckled wryly as she lightly tapped her foot against the back of my calve so we kept walking to class.

"I mean we're becoming good friends. If I did invite you to sit with me, there's no guarantee I'd give you back."

Worriedly, I gulped, not wanting to have to explain that to my school-friends. Or have everyone staring at us. I couldn't bear to ask what she meant again, even though I desperately wanted to know. People were walking beside us to get to their classes, and the idea of being seen with my heart on display in public terrified me.

"W-what brought all this on?" I asked with trepidation, trying to feign that I didn't know what she was getting at. Because deep down I didn't understand what she was saying – Edythe Cullen couldn't possibly like me. She couldn't possibly obsess over someone like me.

"You asked to hang out," she grinned. "I thought that was hanging out."

My face colored, burning red from embarrassment. "Oh, yeah, it was."

Edythe reached out, tapping or flicking my nose gently with her artist's fingers as she chuckled. "You are so perfectly absurd, sometimes, Bella."

"So, I guess that means we're friends, now?"

Edythe grinned, chuckling darkly at me. "Well, we can try I suppose. But, I'm warning you now...that I'm not a good friend for you." She spoke with warmth in her eyes; but, behind her smile...the warning was genuine.

My heart squeezed in my chest, trying desperately to understand what she meant. "You know, you say that a lot, and you have yet to explain what that means."

Trying to ignore the sudden trembling in my fingers, my stomach, the bell rang.

Rushing to Biology and taking our seats, Edythe sat as far as she could from me, like she usually did. I took that to mean that maybe, just maybe, she would become indifferent again and ignore me. The idea alone cut deep inside me; but, once her books were out, she began writing in her notebook. Her perfectly elegant script scribbling words down as Mr. Banner stood and began writing on the white-board. I didn't realize she was writing something for – me – until she slid her notebook between us and waited expectantly. Turning my head, I leaned over to read what she had penned down.

'It means, if you're smart, you'll avoid me.'

Taking my pencil, I carefully slid her notebook over to me, pretended to watch the white board, and scribbled back a reply.

'Clearly, I'm not very smart.'

Setting my pencil back down, my left hand carefully sliding the notebook back to Edythe's side of the lab desk table, she perused it a moment before she opened her expensive-looking fountain pen and scribbled a reply.

'You should give yourself more credit than that. Outside of me, you're the most intelligent person in this room.'

Thinking it would be too suspicious to keep passing a notebook back and forth, I opened my notebook, wrote a line in answer, and turned it enough for Edythe to see what I wrote.

'Even Mr. Banner?'

Edythe just smiled, curling her mouth in that devastating half-grin. My knees felt weak, toes curled inward, and disguised it as an irritated scowl. Getting the idea, she wrote her reply on her side of the paper, all while keeping her eyes on the whiteboard to give the impression of taking notes.

'I wasn't including the teachers, but since you asked, probably not. You may have the IQ for Biology, but he has a better handle on his temper than you do.'

As if she expected my cheeks to blow up like a puffer fish, she smirked rather smugly when she saw my eyes narrow.

'I know you could kill me if you wanted to, you're strong enough to stop a van, stopping me would be nothing. I still want to be your friend, but friends are honest with each other, and you're not being completely honest with me.'

Sliding my notebook toward Edythe, she looked at it for a long moment before she took her pen and purposefully blotted out my line faster than I could react to stop her. One long swipe, like a calligraphy brush, and my statement was gone.

Exasperated from surprise, I glared at her, and she was narrowing her eyes sternly at me. Oh, heaven forbid we 'write' about that.

She didn't exchange another note with me after that, only flipped to a new page and actually recorded notes from Mr. Banner's lecture. Disinterested, desperate to continue this discussion and not be shut out -again- I finally wrote down another line and pushed it toward her.

'Please, I need to know how you saved me.'

Edythe didn't look at it for five minutes, and when she did, she just narrowed her eyes at me and continued taking notes from the white board.

Furious, I tore the page from my notebook, crumpled it up into a ball, and tossed it at her when I thought she wasn't looking.

Her left hand caught it, even though she was fully invested in taking notes with her right hand. Not even looking up to see the ball before it was in her hand, and callously tossed into the wastebasket by Mr. Banner's desk.

Why didn't she want to tell me! Why couldn't she tell me! Who was I really going to tell!? So she had super powers – what was so bad about that? Did she have an alter ego she was trying to protect? My brain tried to imagine Edythe in a super hero outfit, but it did nothing to calm my anger.

I felt her foot tap gently against my own, and my mouth narrowed into a flat line as I looked at her. Her eyes were apologetic, and I felt almost bad that I needed to know how she saved me as badly as I did. Scribbling out another line at the bottom of my work sheet, I pointed it toward her and she scowled at me.

'I'm going to find out eventually, so why don't you just tell me now? Or are you scared I won't be your friend anymore?'

Edythe moved her pen, blotting out that line too. I didn't stop her, not that I could with her fast hands. She replaced it with something underneath, scribbled in her elegant flourish.

'Now isn't the time, Bella'.

Sighing, exasperated, that answer was enough to satisfy me for now, so I turned to a new page for notes; nodding to her.

Mr. Banner kept talking, explaining more on the lesson. Edythe had stopped taking notes, in fact, she had shoved her notebook into her backpack and started to raise her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Cullen?"

She smiled, anxiously. "Mr. Banner, you asked me to remind you when I need to go to the Office?"

He looked at the clock, and then nodded. "Ah, yes, have a good day, Edythe."

Confused, as she was leaving class a half hour early, I could only watch Edythe vanish from the desk and disappear out of the classroom. Where was she going? Why did she need to go to the office?

"Which reminds me of your assignment, today, class," Mr. Banner brought up as he bent down to pick up a bunch of cardboard boxes I hadn't noticed on the floor. He set the boxes down on Mike's table, in the front row, telling him to start passing them around the class.

"Okay everyone, I want you to take one piece from each box," he said as he produced a pair of rubber gloves from the pocket of his lab jacket and pulled them on. The sharp sound of the gloves snapped into place against his wrists felt ominous to me. "The first item should be an indicator card," he went on, grabbing a white card with four scales marked on it, and displayed it up for everyone to see.

"The second is a four-pronged applicator" – he held up something that looked like a nearly toothless hair pick – "and the third is a sterile micro-lancet." He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. The barb was invisible from the distance between us; but, my stomach flipped. I knew what a lancet was, my grandma had been diabetic.

"I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." He began at Mike's table again, carefully putting one drop of water in each of the four squares.

"Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet..." Mr. Banner grabbed Mike's hand and jabbed the tiny spike into the side of Mike's middle finger.

Oh God...clammy moisture broke out across my forehead, and I was desperately wishing that Edythe hadn't ditched me.

"Place a small drop on each of the prongs," he demonstrated, squeezing Mike's finger until the blood flowed like a red raindrop. I swallowed convulsively, my stomach heaving from the sight and smell of blood.

"And then apply the prongs to the card," he finished, holding the dripping red card for all of us to see. I slammed my eyes shut, trying to hear through the loud ringing in my ears.

"The Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles next weekend, so I thought you all should know your blood type." Mr. Banner sounded so proud of his thoughtfulness, and I was completely floored with nausea. Face flat against the cold desk as I hid my head in my arms as much as I humanly could.

Mr. Banner continued through the room with his water drops, and all around me I could hear squealing – complaints or giggles, as my classmates skewered themselves. I breathed as slowly as I could in and out of my mouth like a drugged goldfish.

"Bella? Are you alright?" Mr. Banner asked. His alarmed voice was so close to my head that it startled me.

"I-I already know my blood type, Mr. Banner..." I squeaked in a weak voice, too embarrassed to raise my head from my arms.

"Are you feeling woozy?"

"I-I am..." I muttered, wishing I could have had the balls and psychic powers to ditch this class when I had the chance.

"Can someone take Bella to the nurse, please?" He called out, and I didn't need a crystal ball to know it would be Mike who volunteered to save me.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes," I whispered to Mr. Banner; so overwhelmed by the smell, squeals, and remembrance of fresh blood that if I was going to be allowed to leave – I would be willing to crawl to the nurse's office.

Mike seemed far too eager as he put his arm around my waist and tugged my arm over his shoulder. Leaning against him as much as I could, we made our way out of the classroom. Utterly humiliated, but desperate not to throw up and make it worse, once I was out of the classroom I began to hyperventilate.

Mike towed me slowly across campus; but, when we were around the edge of the cafeteria – out of sight of building four in case Mr. Banner was watching us, I stopped walking.

"Just let me sit here a second, please,' I begged, and he helped me sit on the edge of the cement pathway, against the cafeteria's front side. "And whatever you do...please keep your bleeding hand in your pocket..."

"Wow, you're green, Bella," Mike chortled nervously.

"Bella?" A different voice called from the distance. A velvet voice – angelic voice – and my heart was gripped with terror.

No! Please let me be imagining that voice, Edythe could not see me like this!

"Bella! What's wrong" – I saw her black Doc Martin boots turn to walk toward Mike – "Is she hurt?" Her voice was closer now, and she sounded upset. I wasn't imagining her, she was here. Seeing me all green and pale, and I just wanted to die...in the very least, it would be better than throwing up in front of her!

Mike seemed to be stressed out at Edythe's strong concern. "I think she fainted in class, I don't know what happened, she didn't even stick her finger."

I felt Edythe drop to the floor beside me, heard her voice right near my ear; relief in her voice. "Bella? Can you hear me?"

Soft fingers brushed through my hair, sending electricity through me, distracting me from how sick I felt. But I couldn't answer, I was too mortified to admit that I was awake. Too afraid if I opened my eyes, she would stop running her perfect fingers through my hair.

"I was taking her to the nurse, but she wanted to sit down a minute."

"You've been very kind, Mike, but I can take her the rest of the way," Edythe urged, the relief so prominent in her voice that I could tell she was smiling with relief at seeing me breathing more calmly now.

"No," Mike protested, and it angered me. "I'm supposed to do it, Mr. Banner is counting on me," he said, and suddenly what little I could see through my lashes disappeared from me. My eyes flew open in shock, only to see Edythe looking down at me. She carried me so easily, even though she wasn't much taller than I was. She just scooped me up, like I weight ten pounds, and cradled me softly, strongly, against her chest.

Unable to resist, even if I wanted to, my head rested against her shoulder. My eyes watched her stare at Mike indignantly, not even listening to his protests as she carried me toward the office.

"Hey! Stop!" Mike called, and Edythe ignored him.

Unfortunately moving at all made my stomach lurch, and I clutched her shoulder as hard as I could; desperate and pleading to God that I not throw up all over her white sweater.

"You look terrible," Edythe whispered worriedly to me, only looking at me now, when she had successfully whisked me away from a confused and irritated Mike. It was so nice to be in her arms, but my pride was stronger. I couldn't bear for her to know how much I loved this; being so close to her, being held by her strangely powerful arms. I felt so safe, so cared for, but I shouldn't feel this way – she couldn't know I felt this way.

"P-Put me down, please...I can walk..."

Edythe didn't want to, and for a moment she pursed her lips like she was going to say no. "Alright, but lean against me, okay?"

I nodded, and she set me down gently. I had to hold her waist not to trip, but soon she was supporting my weight with her arms, and my whole body weight didn't seem to bother her at all.

"So..." she began, smirking at me. "You faint at the sight of blood?" The thought seemed to amuse her.

Too proud to answer, I just glared mildly at her, and closed my eyes again. Fighting against the nausea with all my strength as I clamped my lips tightly together.

"And not even your own blood..." she tsk'd quietly, enjoying herself as we moved. I don't know how she opened the office door while supporting me, but it was suddenly warm – so I knew we weren't outside anymore.

"She fainted in Biology," Edythe explained to someone, and I could feel the scream burn inside my head from embarrassment.

Opening my eyes, with shame, we were in the office and Edythe was striding past the front counter toward the nurse's door. Ms. Cope, the redheaded front office receptionist, ran ahead of her to hold the door open. The matronly older nurse looked up from some kind of romance novel, astonished, as Edythe swung me into the room and placed me gently on the crackly paper that covered the brown vinyl mattress covered medical cot. I felt unbearably lonely when she moved again to stand against the wall, as far from myself and the cot as possible. Her eyes, bright an excited, both annoyed and reassured me.

"She's just a little faint," Edythe reassured the startled nurse. "They were blood-typing in Biology."

How did she know that? Mike hadn't told her they were blood-typing…

The nurse chuckled, setting down her novel and shaking her head. "There's always one."

Edythe muffled a snicker, badly, and I glared weakly at her.

"Just stay down for a few minutes, dearie; it'll pass," the nurse advised.

"I know..." The nausea was already fading, and I sighed in exasperation.

"Does this happen often?" She asked.

"Sometimes..." I admitted, and I could hear Edythe cough to hide another laugh.

"You can go back to class, now," The nurse said to Edythe, and my stomach knotted up for a completely different reason at the idea of her leaving.

"I'm supposed to stay with her, Brenda," Edythe replied with such an assured authority to her tone, that even through the nurse pursed her lips – she didn't argue with her.

Relief flooded through me, which helped the nausea to wane considerably. She wasn't leaving. Fresh air seemed to fill my lungs, soothing me to breathe more slowly and close my eyelids.

"I'll go get you some ice for your forehead, dearies," The nurse said to me as I opened my eyes again, watching her bustle slowly out of the room.

Alone, blessedly alone, everything in me wanted to reach out for her to come close to me. I resisted, if only because this whole situation was already enough 'damsel in distress' for one day as it was. What was she going to think about me? Some pathetic needy thing that had to be coddled all the time? Screw being that, even though there was a lot of evidence to the contrary…

"You scared me for a minute there," Edythe admitted after a pause. Her tone made it sound like she was confessing something humiliating, and without thinking I raised my hand toward her. She came closer, still shaking her head at herself. "I thought Mike was dragging your dead body off to bury it in the woods."

A laugh escaped me, my eyes closing when the familiar sharp zings of electricity flooded through me, her freakishly cold fingers a relief to feel tangling with my own. "Very funny."

"Honestly – I've seen corpses with more color to their face. I was concerned that I might have to avenge your murder," she joked, and it worked to cheer me. Who knew if she really -had- seen corpses before, but, given her dad was a surgeon, that didn't seem off to me at the time.

My thoughts strayed to Mike, who had watched the girl he liked be scooped up by a -girl- and carried away from the 'manly man'. His ego must have been crushed. "Poor Mike, I'll bet he's mad..."

Edythe smirked, even though my eyes were closed, I could feel it. "Oh, he truly loathes me," she mentioned with absolute, cheerful, confidence.

"You can't know that," I countered playfully. "But I bet his ego is pretty bruised right now."

Her soft hands wrapped around my own, and I might have been imagining it, but it felt like they were trembling. "Does that bother you? I didn't take you as the type to enjoy being rescued..."

Gently shaking my head, I opened my eyes to watch her pull a chair next to me with her foot and sit down beside me. "I don't enjoy hurting anyone."

She smiled at me, something mischievous tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I know you don't...but sometimes, being blunt and forthcoming is the best way to help someone."

I snorted, and gave her a look. "Oh, you mean like ignoring me for a month?"

She looked struck, and both of us hardened our eyes at each other. I thought she was going to drop my hands, but she only squeezed them a little tighter for a moment.

"I'm really not good for you, Bella. But I...can't stay away from you anymore, Bella. I want to be...friends," she lingered on the last word, as though trying to say more, and I couldn't feel what anger I still had morph into hatred. Only forgiveness, as it wasn't exactly like I didn't have a hard time either.

Desperate to change the subject, as I felt so exposed and uncomfortable for some reason, I bit my lip and realized something.

"You left class earlier, to go to the office, what were you doing?"

She sheepishly grinned. "I…may have lied to Mr. Banner."

My brows furrowed. "Why?"

She snickered at me. "I saw the boxes, knew what they were...and I decided to ditch class."

Surprise filled me as I watched her. "-You- ditched class?"

She chuckled again. "You say that like it's impossible."

Shaking my head, I shrugged, looking down at her hand and brushing my thumb over her own. "I didn't take you as a rebel."

Edythe rolled her eyes, tickling my fingers with her own in a quick flicker of movement. "If I could think of a reason to bring you with me, I would have. Especially knowing how easy you faint at the sight of blood."

"Smell," I corrected.

This amused her, ans she grinned at me. "The smell, then."

"Where were you? If you were ditching."

She smirked, shrugging playfully. "I was in my car, listening to a CD. Mike was carrying you, and..." This surprised me, as the parking lot was quite a distance from the Biology classroom; but, before I could ask, Edythe dropped my hands and leaned back into the chair. My hands stayed in the position they had been in, as though if I was a statue, maybe she would move her hands back into my own again.

Before I could ask why she moved back, the door opened, and I saw the nurse returning with a cold compress in her hand.

"Hear you are, dearie," She said as she laid it across my forehead; smiling at me. "You're looking much better, now."

"I'm okay," I said, only waiting a minute or two more out of sheer courtesy to keep the compress on my forehead; not wanting the older lady to have just wasted her time fetching me ice. However, the door opened again, and Ms. Cope stuck her head into the room.

"Brenda, we've got another one..."

Edythe chuckled as she moved to stand next to me, and I took her hand – feeling my fingers zing again with the shock of her cold touch – to stand back up and hold the ice against my forehead with my other hand. She let go of my hand then, and I felt like she didn't want to. Edythe helped me move to stand against the wall as a sallow-looking Lee Stephens was carried in by Mike into the room.

The look Mike cast to Edythe could have slashed holes in her flesh.

"Oh no..." Edythe whispered to me. "Go out to the office, Bella."

I looked at her; bewildered.

"Trust me – go."

Spinning on my heels as fast as I could without tripping, I caught the door before it closed and darted out into the infirmary. I could feel Edythe behind me, even though she wasn't touching me.

She chuckled; stunned. "I'm surprised you listened to me."

"I smelled the blood," I said, wrinkling my nose.

"Usually, people can't smell blood," she contradicted.

"Well, maybe it's all in my head; but, I can. It smells like rust and salt..." She was staring at me with an unfathomable expression on her face. One that made me freeze and just stare at her.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing," she assured me.

Mike came through the door, then, glancing from me to Edythe. The loathing returned to his face, and I found myself giving him an apologetic look when he gazed back to me with sadness in his eyes.

"You look better," he almost seemed to be accusing me with his words.

"Just...keep your hand in your pocket, Mike," I warned him, as playfully as I could.

"It's not bleeding anymore," Mike muttered. "Are you coming back to class?"

I glanced at the clock, without really reading it. "Sure, if I want to faint again and come right back."

"Oh, yeah, I guess..." Mike said, shaking his head at himself.

"There's only about five minutes left of class, Mike," Edythe countered gently, and I watched Mike's face harden into a line. He did not need to feel more stupid than he already felt, and for some reason I felt like Edythe -was- trying to make him feel worse for some reason.

Mike snapped his attention back to me, without saying anything. "Are you coming this weekend? To the beach?" Mike asked, and while he spoke he completely ignored Edythe – who was standing against the cluttered counter, motionless as a statue, staring off into space.

I tried to sound as friendly as I could. "Sure, I said I would go."

"We're meeting at my dad's store, at ten, you know where it is?" Mike asked, his eyes once again flicking back to Edythe. As though he was worried he was revealing too much information out loud, and that this wasn't an open invitation.

"I'll be there," I promised.

"Great, do you want to head to Gym now?" Mike said, moving without certainty toward the door – which he held open in an almost territorial way. I didn't understand it, maybe Mike didn't even understand it either, but then he -had- just had a girl crush his manliness.

"I'll meet you there, Mike," I promised without sincerity.

Mike grimaced in anger, but he didn't say anything as he let the door close and walked away. Probably upset that I didn't have any interest in spending time alone with him, which I didn't, but it still hurt to know I was crushing him.

"Ugh...Gym..." I groaned, looking at Edythe.

"I can take care of that," a velvet voice said softly beside me, and I hadn't realized Edythe had moved to my side, so when she spoke right against my ear it sent shivers all over me. "Go sit down and look pale."

That wasn't a challenge, I was always pale, and my recent swoon had left a light green sheen of sweat on my face. Sitting down in one of the creaky folding chairs, I rested my head against the wall with my eyes closed. Fainting spells always exhausted me.

Edythe spoke softly at the counter. "Ms. Cope?"

"Yes?" I hadn't heard her return to her desk, she must not have been typing.

"Bella has Gym the next hour, and I don't think she feels well enough. Actually, I was thinking I should take her home, now. Do you think you could excuse her from class?" Her voice was like melting honey...I could only imagine how much more overwhelming her eyes would be if she used that voice on me.

"Do you need to be excused, too, Edythe?" Ms. Cope blinked, as though smitten or under some kind of spell. Why couldn't I do that to people?

"No, I have Mrs. Goff – she won't mind."

"I'm not supposed to allow this, is your father her doctor?"

Edythe nodded, and the lie unsettled me for some reason.

"Alright, it's all taken care of," Ms. Cope said before she looked at me. "You feel better, Bella," she called to me, and I nodded weakly. Playing up my weakness just a little bit.

Edythe walked over to me, something mischievous on her face. "Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you again?" With her back to the receptionist, her expression became even more sarcastic.

"I can walk," I said, trying desperately not to reveal my snark as I stood and realized something. "Oh...my bag, I left it in Biology."

Edythe held the door for me, which I didn't mind, her smile polite even though her eyes were still teasing me. Walking out into the cold, fine, mist that had just begun to fall.

For the first time – the rain felt nice. The constant moisture falling out of the sky washed my face clean of sticky perspiration, and it reminded me of how it felt to hold Edythe's hand. She was here, near me, wanting to be close to me – and it made the rain strangely wonderful.

"I can fetch your bag when we get to the truck," She reassured, and walked beside me with her hands in her jean pockets.

"Thanks, by the way..." I started, walking a bit slower than usual. "It's almost worth getting sick to miss Gym."

She stared straight forward, squinting into the rain as she replied. "Anytime."

"So, are you going? This Saturday, I mean?" I asked, hoping she would consider it. I couldn't picture Edythe loading up to carpool with the rest of the kids from school; but, seeing her join the lunch table today made it easier to imagine that it had before. But just hoping she might come to the beach with us was the first twinge of enthusiasm I felt for going.

"To the beach? I don't think Mike would be okay if I tagged along," the thought hurt me when she said it, because we both knew it was true.

"I think he'll get over it," I said, and Edythe stopped looking ahead expressionlessly to mildly smirk at me.

"Where are you all going, then?"

"Down to someplace called La Push?" I studied her face, trying desperately to read her expression. Her eyes seemed to narrow omnipontent-ly. Her mouth curling wryly.

"Maybe you and I shouldn't push Mike any further this week...I think if I crush his masculinity anymore, he'll snap." Her eyes danced; she was enjoying the idea of crushing him, and I didn't quite understand why.

"Mike-schmike," I muttered playfully, too preoccupied by the way she said 'You and I' to come up with anything better to say. I liked the sound of those words way more than I knew I should.

We were in the parking lot, and out of habit I veered left, toward my truck. Something caught my jacket, gently stopping me from walking further.

"Where are you going?" She asked, almost indignantly. Her hand held a fistful of my jacket hostage, but it wasn't so tight that I couldn't breathe.

I pointed at my truck. "I parked over there."

She grimaced, cringing even, at my old Beast. "I thought we would take my car..."

"Why?" I asked, gently moving her hand from holding onto my jacket, which she reluctantly let go of with a scowl on her face.

"I don't think it's a good idea if you drive right now," she admitted

I sighed, thinking of a compromise. "Then you can drive the Beast, but if I don't take him home, my dad is going to get suspicious."

She raised her eyebrow at me. "Did you name your truck 'The Beast?'"

Snorting irritably, I scoffed a sigh under my breath and shook my head. "What, it fits."

Sighing, she shook her head at me, before she slid her hands back into her pockets and gestured with a nod toward my truck. We walked toward it then, and I might have been able to save face – if not for stumbling off of the curb! Tripping on literally nothing, Edythe caught me with such skill and precision, than she scowled at me angrily.

"Goodness, Bella, how is it you're not dead, yet."

Her comment enraged me, and what joy I felt at the shivers rushing through me washed away as I furrowed my eyebrows at her. I had always been horribly clumsy, and the way she tugged on my arm and gently guided me toward my car was humiliating to me. Like she thought I was a china doll that would shatter if I hit the pavement.

When we got to my truck, I reached into my pocket for my car-keys, unlocking the driver's side door before Edythe's hand rose up expectantly.

With a sigh, I handed her the keys and crawled into the cab of my car. As soon as the door was closed behind me, Edythe walked off, fast, and I found myself trapped with my embarrassment – thinking over the events of the day.

Edythe wanted to be near me, she wanted to be friends. I wanted her near me, I also wanted to be friends. What more could we be? But I felt like we were more than that, I'd never wanted to be friends with someone more in my life. Even when she was pissed off, irritatingly frustrating, being away from her felt like I was spinning in circles with nothing to anchor me here. Even though I still felt kind of woozy, I didn't want to lay down in the cab of my truck and miss seeing her come back.

It was intoxicating, waiting for her to come back. I didn't want to hear any music on the radio, even the rain was annoying to me again, as though the sound could possibly distract my eyes from spotting her bronze-blond hair and white sweater.

A thump sounded beside me, scaring my heart out of my chest with the shriek that left my mouth.

Edythe stared at me like a deer in headlights, as though she wasn't sure why I had been so terrified at her opening the door.

"Goodness, Bella! It's just me!"

I blinked, too much, in shock. "H-How did you get back so fast? I didn't see you," I said, pointing to the parking lot and school; completely dumbfounded.

Edythe chuckled, setting her bag and my own in the middle of the seat. "I took the back way, it's faster for me."

The back way? There was a back way? I looked, seeing only trees and forest that had no path going through it that I could see. Something felt really off, but it wasn't a big enough deal to bother me as she leaned over me. Buckling me in, I could smell her hair – which was spicy and floral, a floral musk that overwhelmed my senses and made my heart quicken in my chest.

She was gone before I could breathe her in, which perhaps I should be grateful for, and I blinked furiously to try and snap myself out of the smell her hair had induced me into.

"You know, I can buckle myself in."

She chuckled, sticking the keys into the ignition. I wanted to tell her that you had to pump it twice to get it going; but, she already seemed to know that, and she started backing out of the parking lot. Both impressed and irritated that my Beast seemed to like Edythe being at the wheel.

"Indeed; but, once in a while it's okay for someone to take care of you, Bella."

Not sure how to answer that, my mouth curled into a grumble as I looked at her and realized something.

"Aren't you going to put on a seat belt?"

She blinked at me as though the idea was ridiculous, only to hold her foot on the break and buckle herself up with an amused gleam at me. "If you insist."

She didn't wait after buckling herself in, the seat-belt hugging tight to her lithe, lanky, form as she continued to back out of the spot and drive toward the exit.

She looked at the radio beside us, softly pursing her mouth. "Your truck only plays cassette tapes, I take it."

A smirk warmed my mouth, and I reached out to affectionately pat the dashboard with my palm. "He's an old fella, but he plays the radio just fine."

Edythe hummed in thought, hand moving to flick on my radio, which automatically played a classical station. One of three stations I flipped through on my way to or from school.

She looked over at me curiously as she turned onto the freeway. "You enjoy Classical?"

Embarrassment flushed my face. "Sometimes, I have a few favorites."

"What do you like?" She asked, the radio voice announcing the next song as I considered my answer.

"I um, I like some operas. A little Mozart, Beethoven, and Debussy."

Her eyes seemed to suddenly perk up with enthusiasm. "I love Debussy. Especially Clair de lune."

Surprised, my blush faded slightly. "Clair de lune is great, there's a movie that made an orchestral version of it...but I haven't heard them play it on the radio yet."

"A full orchestra, hm...That could be good or bad," she teased.

I chuckled at her, not really listening to the music as I relaxed against the back of the bench-seat. It was impossible not to respond to her joy, my own fully singing in my chest at being alone with her like this. The rain blurred everything outside the window into gray and green smudges. I began to realize, sadly, that we were driving -very fast- down the freeway, and yet the car moved so steadily, so evenly, that I didn't feel the speed. Only the town flashing by gave it away that we were speeding, and with worry I wondered if she was trying to get me home faster to be away from me.

The fear didn't have time to sink in, as Edythe turned to me and spoke – not even watching the road. "What is your mother like?"

I glanced over to see her studying me with large, curious, eyes. "She looks like me, but she's prettier," I said, and Edythe raised her eyebrows. "I have too much Charlie in me, I guess. She's more outgoing than I am, and braver...but she's irresponsible and eccentric. She's been my best friend," I stopped. Talking about her was making me miss her desperately, and depressed, the pang burned in my chest.

"How old are you, Bella?" Her voice sounded frustrated, for some reason I couldn't imagine. She'd stopped the car now, and I realized with a start that we were already at Charlie's house. The rain was falling down so heavily now that I could barely see the house at all; we were submerged in a river of mist.

"I'm seventeen," I responded, a little confused by the question.

"You don't seem seventeen to me," she mentioned, her tone sounded strangely reproachful, and I found myself biting back a chuckle.

Unfortunately, it snorted from my chest, and she looked at me curiously again.

"What is it?"

"My mom always said I was born thirty-five years old and that I get more middle-aged each year," I laughed, and then sighed. "But then, someone has to be the adult." I paused for a moment. "You don't seem seventeen yourself."

She made a face and changed the subject, for some reason. Turning off the truck and sitting back into the chair to lean toward me. "So, why did your mother marry Phil?"

I was surprised Edythe remembered his name; I'd only mentioned it once after all – and almost two months ago, at that. It took me a moment to recover enough to answer her.

"My mom, she's really...impulsive. A free spirit. I think Phil makes her feel as young as she believes she is? At any rate, she's crazy about him. "

"Do you approve?" She asked, and the question swamped me.

"Does it matter?" I countered, and she looked at me as though she found it weird that my opinion could possibly not matter. "I mean, I want her to be happy...and he is who she wants." I countered, quickly.

"That's very generous of you, Bella...I wonder..."

She trailed off, and when she didn't say anything, I pushed. "What do you mean."

"Would she extend the same courtesy to you? If the position was reversed...No matter...who your...choice was?" She was suddenly very intent on watching me, her eyes desperately searching my own. They were so intense they hurt me, because I knew what she was getting at, even if I couldn't outwardly admit it to myself.

"I—I think so," I stuttered badly, too cowardice to be able to say anything else.

"S-She's my Mom, though, s-so it's a little different..."

She seemed to be hoping I would say something else, and covered up her disappointment by trying to look teasingly at me. "No one too scary, then."

I tried to grin in reply, it was hard not to be cheerful when she was playful. "Depends on what you mean by 'scary'. Multiple facial piercings and expensive tattoos?"

A huge knot was in my throat, because I felt like something was going to happen to knock me off kilter and I would just float away from the earth even though I was still seat-belted into the cab of my truck.

"That's one type of 'scary', I suppose..."

"W-what type of scary were you thinking about?" The question sucked the air from my lungs, because I was terrified to ask, and too terrified not to, all at the same moment.

She didn't answer, only set her hand on her thigh and clenched it tightly into a fist near her knee. Skin stretched over her white knuckles, and the barrier of our school bags between us suddenly seemed suffocating to me. The coward, too afraid for those bags to be moved to the wet floor, and too scared to tell her why.

Was she scared to? She seemed to be struggling, and finally, her hand un-clenched and she said it.

"Do you think...-I- would be scary?" She watched me desperately; trembling subtly shaking her lower lip in faint twitches that electrified me.

"W-what are you talking about?" I tried to lie, pretending I didn't know, because I was so scared I couldn't move. Her face looked heartbroken, like I had ripped her soul out of her chest, and I couldn't bear it. My face was so easy to read, I was sure she knew I was lying. I just felt so overwhelmed with shame, knowing full well what was wrong with me, and hating that there was nothing I could do to change how I felt. Or change how scared that made me.

"If...If you brought me home, to your mother...would that...scare her."

Nausea filled me, I felt like I was going to faint all over again, everything sweat and I felt hot and unable to breathe. But somehow, I spoke, even though my words were wet and garbling. "I-I don't...I don't know.."

Guilt washed over Edythe's face, and her eyes were so broken that when she unbuckled her seat belt, I was terrified that she would leave me and not come back.

My hand no longer was under my control, it snapped out, and I tried to take her hand. She caught it, and I could feel her hand was shaking with the same ferocious trembles that crippled me. Only she looked so amazingly perfect, even when she was so tense.

"Bella..."

She whispered, still holding my hand as she gently pressed the door to open. The loud rain overwhelming the silence of what had once been a sanctuary inside the cab of my truck. She moved out of the car, still holding my hand, to sling our bags over her shoulder and lead me. I slid weakly along the bench seating of my truck to get out the driver's side door, and standing next to her – I couldn't breathe.

"Let's go inside..."

I nodded, like a ghost, and for a few moments...it felt like I wasn't clumsy anymore. I didn't worry about falling on my face on the brick driveway, because her hand held me, and her hands could stop a truck. Her cold, cold, hands that filled me with unnatural warmth.

Edythe stopped, unlocking the door with the only other key in my key ring, and led me inside the house. Which was blissfully empty, blissfully dark, and she stopped in the door. Setting my bag on the floor as we both wiped our feet on the rug. The light on as though Edythe had been in my house before, and could find everything on autopilot.

I couldn't say anything, I didn't know what to say, or how to process what she had told me. So she liked me too? She wanted to know if my mom would approve of her? What did that even mean? We couldn't exactly have an accepted future, not in this tiny town, not even in larger towns. Everything I had seen of videos of 'pride parades' had been met with public shame and subtle sneers from many of the people I'd known in life. I'd only been to church a handful of times in mom's flocking to places for enlightenment, and they'd all told me how horrible people who sinned were. Adulterers, Homosexuals, they were in the same category for them – because we couldn't get married, and a gay couple tried – their marriage wasn't real and a sick mockery of what was real.

That wasn't what I felt, even as shame filled me. Edythe was too important to me...she'd never tried to flirt with me, or touch me, or get me in bed. She didn't look at me like I was an object, like I was there to 'sin' with, she looked at me the way Mike looked at me. Wanting to know me more, be around me, get to know me...and I desperately wanted to get to know her too…

But there was no way back, for me. If we tried to be an 'item', people would always see us as a sick mockery of a couple. They wouldn't understand, they would always grimace and shun us, or tiptoe around us like we were eggs that would break if they said the elephant in the room.

All these thoughts swarmed me, like violent bees, making time run fast and slow down to nothing at the same moment. All while Edythe just led me inside the kitchen, sat down at the dinner table, and looked at the fridge curiously. So many words passing between our eyes, words I didn't understand, full of meaning too strong for me to easily say.

"Do you want me to get you anything?" She gestured to the cabinets, and I shook my head.

"N-no, I'm fine," too nauseated to eat from the pit in my stomach.

My mind just kept shooting past Edythe trying to be kind to me in the kitchen, to her question – My mom. Would my mom not accept her? I honestly didn't know. She'd never said anything outwardly negative of gay couples, she even knew a few at her yoga classes in Phoenix, some nice people who had showed up to her birthday party. But while she was nice, friendly, she was never best friends with someone who was lesbian or gay. She never confided in someone who was gay, she'd never said anything to convey she was for it, or approved it.

I knew, deep in my heart, that Charlie wouldn't. And Charlie was the one I lived with, my shame would make it so hard on him being the respected police chief. That mattered to me, even if it wasn't enough of a reason to make me stop. Mom disapproving of Edythe hurt me worse, but it was more than that...could -I- live with this choice? Could she?

Would she leave me? If the world knew, and she was ashamed, would she say it was all me? Leave me all alone? Maybe she would...but did that matter?

"You know...there are no secrets in Forks..." Edythe said, as though speaking what was on my mind, or more precisely, what was on hers.

I couldn't answer, maybe she didn't expect me to. "Alice is going to be here in an hour, to get me."

Her words pained me, and my hand squeezed her hand a little more. I still couldn't speak.

"A-Alice is okay..." she said, swallowing as I did, before she continued. "Of us. You and I. She's really...excited."

"What do you mean?"

Edythe bit her lip. "Of us, being friends."

"Oh," I started, feeling a weak smile curl my mouth. "I'm glad."

Her eyes lit up. "You are?"

I nodded, weakly. "Yeah, I really like that you're my friend."

The words 'my friend' physically stung. It lashed at me the way they lashed at her face.

"I'm glad..." she parroted, and even if she was, I knew she was hurt, and it crushed me more than I could say.

"Well...you have fun at the beach tomorrow. It might even be good weather for sunbathing," she mentioned, glancing away to the one window in my kitchen.

Her words hurt me, dug at my heart like scooping out dirt with a spoon. "W-won't I see you tomorrow?" I asked, disappointment soaking my voice even though I tried really hard not to show it.

"No...Emmett and Rosalie are starting the weekend early."

"What are you doing to do?" A friend could ask that, right? I hoped the pain wasn't too obvious on my face; but, I was too concerned with knowing her answer to care.

"We're going to go hiking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, just south of Rainier."

Ugh, hiking…I would just embarrass her in front of her siblings. Remembering that Charlie had said their family went camping a lot, this shouldn't have surprised me.

"Oh...I see. Well, I hope you have fun," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic that we wouldn't be able to see each other tomorrow. I don't think I fooled her, and if she was trying to hide that she was disappointed, she didn't fool me either.

"Will you do something for me this weekend?" Edythe asked, her eyes pleading with me as she looked me dead in the eye. Utilizing the full force of her gold, burning, eyes – I nodded helplessly against her charm.

"Can you promise not to fall into the ocean, or trip over rocks? Please don't be offended; but, you seem to be one of those people who attract accidents like a magnet," she said, smiling crookedly as her thumb brushed over my hand.

"No guarantees, I don't have a graceful bone in my body, but I'll try...if you do the same."

She smiled crookedly, and then giggled whole-hearted-ly; the idea of herself falling over was somehow hilarious to her. "I promise, nothing can happen to me."

She was so sure of her words, and knowing she had stopped a truck, reminded me that she promised to tell me later. "So...about your...stopping vans..."

She let go of my hand and stood. "Not today," she said warmly, and bent, raising my hand to kiss the back of it.

The unexpected peck to my hand sent cold shivers through my toes, the back of my calves felt woozy from surprise. "S-someday?"

She relented with a smile. "Someday, I promise."

The rest of the hour passed very fast, we talked about things from music to homework, and she even helped me work on our Biology assignment. When I heard a honk outside, Edythe smiled, kissed my hand again, and then grabbed her book-bag to leave before I could say anything more to stop her.

Not from speed, she moved slower, like she didn't want to be away from me. I just, didn't want to say too much, to memorize every image of her in my kitchen, the way she moved as she walked out of the house.

Alice waved from the silver Volvo's driver's seat window, which was down, but I couldn't see the other faces before Edythe closed the door and left me alone to my thoughts.

Left me kicking myself for being too much of a coward to tell her how I felt.


	7. Chapter Six - La Push

_Surprisingly, I decided to age up Jacob to be the same age as Bella, albeit a little bit younger. Adding more notes from the movie of how Eric and Angela were a couple, because I really like them together and it was super cute to write little comments about them once in a while. I have a feeling Lauren's nastiness will come out in later chapters, how much? I really won't know until I start writing._

 _I appreciate all your reviews and comments, please keep making them when you have the time, they keep me on the ball. Adding more to this story, I hope I captured Alice's personality well, but, the way I see it - Alice was probably turned around the sixties sometime (my internet research told me that the sixties is when Pixie haircuts became super popular) so I figure of the four of them, Alice would most likely be the person who would approve of Edythe and Bella first. With Jasper trying his best, because Alice is so thrilled about it and he deeply loves her. I wanted Alice to have more of a forefront than a background character, as she -is- supposed to be 'best friends' with Bella, and I didn't feel like the books portrayed that friendship as well as it could have been._

 _At the end of the chapter, the question is something that would legitimately give me cause for concern if I was in Bella's shoes, so -tinks a glass- here's to Bella and Edythe having a very important chat very soon. Until then, you'll have to make due with this chapter._

 _Ps: I was wrong about when Alice was turned! I'll be doing more google research than a hairstyle popularity search, but there are other reasons why Alice would be the most accepting of our heroines, at first. Her close sisterhood with Edythe, for starters, other reasons you'll just have to wait and read._

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

That night, I spent every minute in my room once dinner was over. Tearing over the third act of Macbeth, my English homework, or calculating problems for Trig. Whatever I could do to distract me from what happened in the kitchen, the cab of my car, even at school. Distract me from myself, which proved to be an impossible task. Once Edythe had stopped helping me with homework, I seemed to have lost any ability to do it on my own. Or at least, I had no desire or motivation to give it my whole heart after I had crushed hers.

I couldn't deny it anymore. Edythe clearly liked me the way I liked her.

Why else would she ask if my mom would approve of her? It wouldn't matter unless Edythe didn't care about me. For some reason – unfathomable to me – she seemed to want me back.

Even before I met Edythe, I knew something was wrong with me – besides having the brain of a thirty-five year old, or balance impaired with no hand-eye coordination. I never could pin down what it was, as I'd never really liked -anybody- this much to know something was off.

Laying in bed, trapped with no one but myself, I had to face it – I was more like my father than I wanted to be. When he fell in love with my mom, she was 'it' for him. He had no other girlfriends, no desire for anyone else. He seemed to be glad that mom was happy with Phil; but, it couldn't erase the shrine he had built for her here.

It had always made him seem pathetic to me, growing up.

Logic demanded that if I was similar to Charlie, Edythe would change her mind and leave me. I might be alone in this house with my father for the rest of my life, only then he wouldn't be able to stomach me. His broken, sexual deviant, daughter. Maybe it wouldn't be for a couple of years, or ten years, or longer, but it was inevitable.

Even so, my dad never gave up on my mom. Despite his sad and sorry years of pining for someone who didn't love him anymore, he never seemed to regret that he gave everything he had. Would it hurt me worse to give up now?

Could I?

Edythe's mouth curled into a subtle half-grin, wryly amused at me, whispering _'No, probably not'_ in my head. Thousands of other questions flooded through my head before it was two in the morning, and I still couldn't sleep.

Maybe I could pretend I didn't feel what I felt, save my father and her family from embarrassment. But the idea of being away from her...never to see her again. I couldn't cope with it, it hurt me so much my chest felt tight and heavy. If not for the reminder of her soft lips pressing gentle kisses to my knuckles, I may have never been able to sleep that night.

I wasn't looking forward to Friday, despite it being the end of the school week. Without having any expectations for how it would go, I knew Edythe wouldn't be at school, and all my desire to go significantly waned. Of course, there were the fainting comments. Jessica, especially, seemed to get a huge kick out of the story. Bella fainted in class and had to go home, but it was an embarrassment I was resigned to.

I should have been more grateful that Mike was too embarrassed himself to tell anyone how Edythe had swooped in and swept me off my feet. But, every so often, he looked at me with pain in his eyes, and guilt plucked at me. Jessica always had questions, though, and she couldn't help herself from asking them in Trig.

"So, why did Edythe and Alice want to sit with us yesterday?"

"Is it bad that they did?"

She scowled mildly. "No, I just wondered if you invited them to sit for a particular reason..."

Feigning ignorance to her obvious fishing for gossip, I tried to keep my expression blank and disinterested. "I didn't, but it's not easy for them to make friends, I guess?"

"You know, I've never seen them sit with anyone; but, their family before. It was weird."

"Really weird," I agreed, and she seemed annoyed somehow. Flipping her blond hair impatiently – I could only guess that she'd been hoping to hear something that would make an interesting story for her to pass on to her other friends.

"I guess since Edythe isn't flirting with Mike, it's okay."

For some reason, I snorted. Loudly enough for everyone in Trig to look over at us.

Jessica narrowed her eyes in suspicion, and I quickly covered myself. "I really don't think Mike's her type."

"What is -that- supposed to mean?"

Not understanding -how- I had offended Jessica, I swallowed and shook my head. "It doesn't mean anything, Mike's just going with you, still, right?"

Jessica relaxed, still vaguely suspicious before she perked up, and instantly went back to gabbing about how excited she was to go to the dance. I tuned her out and went back to work.

The worst part about Friday was that even though I knew Edythe wasn't going to be here, I still hoped I would see her. When I walked into the cafeteria with Mike and Jessica, my eyes pulled toward her family table. Alice, and Jasper sat talking with their heads close together. Which reassured me, Edythe hadn't lied to me about going camping with her family, but gloom still engulfed me at realizing how long I would have to wait until I saw her again.

Three days felt like forever.

Half expecting Alice to come sit with me, as she did look for me and wave her hand enthusiastically when our eyes met, when she didn't I felt strangely trapped. Everyone was full of our plans for Saturday. Mike was animated again, putting a great deal of trust in the local weatherman who had promised sun tomorrow. I'd have to see that before I could believe it; but, it was warmer today – almost sixty degrees. Maybe the outing wouldn't be completely miserable.

When I finished eating, Alice started trying to wave me over, and for whatever reason I stayed where I was. Whether it was the way Jasper looked like his eyes might burn out of his skull if I moved closer, or everyone would stare at me for being the one person 'welcomed' to the Cullen table, I couldn't bring myself to go over there.

Edythe's words echoed in my head, that Alice was 'happy for us'. What did that even mean? What if she embarrassed me by talking about 'Edythe and I' in public? Sending cautious smiles, eventually Alice scoffed playfully from afar and stopped trying to flag me down like an airplane.

At this point, I intercepted a few unfriendly glances from Lauren, which I didn't fully understand until we were all moving away from the table to dump our trays. I was right behind her, just a foot away, and she was evidently well aware of that fact.

"...I don't know why Bella" – She sneered my name – "Doesn't just go sit with the Cullens from now on. She's 'clearly' better than we are."

She muttered to Mike and Jessica, and I'd never noticed what an unpleasant, nasally, voice she had. The thick malice in it caught me off guard – I really didn't know her well at all, but surely not enough to dislike me – or so I thought.

"She's my friend, Lauren," Mike whispered back loyally, but his tone was also weirdly territorial, and it made me so uncomfortable that I stopped. Angela and Eric slowly passed by me, and I let them go, not wanting to hear anymore of what Lauren had to say.

Which was when Alice caught me – or spun to stand in front of the door before I had a chance to leave it. Her eyes bright and enthusiastic as she almost danced on the balls of her feet. Gorgeous heeled ankle-boots distracting me from the sea of sneakers and rain-boots enough to look up from the floor and look at her.

"Hey, Bella!"

I swallowed, uncomfortably. "Hey, Alice."

She moved out of focus, to tug on the arm of someone – Jasper – who looked as equally unnerved to be here as I was. He only gave me a strangely reserved, almost lordly, nod of greeting.

Wishing I could escape, even though I was happy to see her, my tongue swelled up and she tiptoed gracefully to be a bit closer to me.

"Soooooo?" Alice almost sang the question.

"What?"

Alice shook her head bemusedly; her black pixie hair spun around her head like satin ribbons. "How did it go?"

If I could have felt more stupid, I probably would have. "What do you mean?"

Alice sighed, looking at Jasper with one eye sheepishly narrowed. For whatever reason, my concern melted away to the point where I felt only cheerfulness at her company.

Maybe because Alice was leading us outside, away from the populace, and away from where Mike, Lauren, Jessica and their other friends were talking. I followed her, if only to avoid Lauren's subtle malice.

"Don't worry about them, they're just jealous," Alice reassured me, a giggle bubbling up from her throat.

"Yeah, I guess," I said, not wholly aware of why they would be jealous if they seemed to loathe the Cullens. All of them were so very gorgeous though, so that didn't exactly surprise me.

Jasper stayed near the door, and I didn't notice he wasn't there until Alice began to barage me with her questions again. "So?"

"So?..."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me how it went, what happened after Edythe took you home? Come on, no one's listening."

I looked around to be sure, just to double check, and sure enough – Jasper had given us privacy. He looked like he was in pain, lurking away from everyone by one of the pillars holding up the rain-roofed walkways.

Even with being alone with Alice, who was 'in' on whatever this was, I felt my tongue swelling up and swallowed uncomfortably. "We worked on our Biology assignment. Was something supposed to happen?"

Alice looked at me as though she already knew what had happened, and had caught me sputtering the worst lie imaginable. "You know exactly what happened, Bella. You don't have to play dumb with me."

Fire burned in my blood. Edythe must have told her sister about yesterday, there was no other explanation that made sense – and it infuriated me. The complete lack of trust – no, the lack of consideration – stunned me into silence.

My eyelids kept blinking from shock, and for some reason Alice thought this was adorable and kept giggling quietly at me. Bella, trying not to cry from anger.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about, Alice," the words fumed from me, and Alice bit her lip and looked down dejectedly.

"If you're not brave enough to say it, fine. But really, no one else can hear us, and you can trust me."

I really wanted to; but, the anger I felt at Edythe blabbing to her sister still stung me. My brows knitted together and my jaw firmed my lips into a hard line before I could finally speak. Which wasn't more than a few seconds after her, but it felt so much longer than it was. I wasn't a total coward! But this wasn't like Edythe was a guy and there wouldn't be any judgment for it.

"Okay, I'll say it. Why are – you – okay with this? What about this is so-...'exciting' to you?"

Alice furrowed her brows, confused at my question. "Why shouldn't it be?"

Too afraid to answer her, in case we were overheard, she gently patted my shoulders with her hands in a sisterly way. Her hands were frozen under her gloves, but I honestly didn't notice. "Listen...my sister has never had a...friend...before. Or, someone she wanted to be her 'friend' this much. You're all she thinks about."

I was? The anger waned inside me, and she must have seem my expression soften, as her eyes lit up.

"You know, she's been playing the piano again" – Edythe played the piano? – "she hasn't had any desire to play for a long time, Bella, and I don't want to see her hurt."

Alice cared a great deal for her sister, that was to be expected, and I found myself weirdly jealous. I'd never had someone my age, who wasn't my mom, care for me that much. It made me wonder what it would be like to have a sister care that much about me, and for whatever reason, I felt like Alice cared about me too. In a much different way than Edythe did, of course, but equally valuable to me at that moment.

"I...I don't want to hurt her, either, Alice."

She smirked playfully at me, in her bouncy fairy way, as she swayed on her feet side by side like a dancer. "I know," she said, so happily and with such assuredness that it boggled me. "But I think if I don't give you both a poke now and then, you girls will never take the plunge."

The plunge. Those words sounded so very dangerous and frightful to me and my tongue swelled again. "The Plunge?"

Thankfully, she ignored my question and just kept on excitedly babbling. "I swear, Edythe will probably burn all my shoes when she finds out I'm meddling, but she's too hard headed for her own good, sometimes." She turned to me, tilting her head so that all her animated dark hair framed her face again. She was so infectious to look at, I couldn't help but smile when she smiled at me.

"She is kind of stubborn..." I started, knowing full well that school was not the place to ask about relationships – or superpowers.

Alice chuckled at me. "You have – no – idea, but I'll make her buy me new shoes anyway."

I just blinked, shoes? Clothes? This kind of thing really didn't interest me, and Alice pursed her lip in a thoughtful scowl.

"Figures...the one person Edythe wants to bring home, and she has an equal aversion to fashion."

Was I ugly? Did I look like a lumberjack or something? My eyes trailed down, at my olive coat, gray thermal shirt, and jeans. It wasn't that bad, was it? Who was I kidding, Alice dressed like she stole clothes off of a New York fall collection.

She smirked, sizing me up, and trying to reach forward with her cold hands and fluff up my hair! "Ah, no, what are you doing?"

Alice giggled. "Just seeing what nature blessed me to work with," she said, and I blinked at her as she tilted her head. "I have this – blue dress – that my sister would kill to see you in..."

My eyes widened in horror; she wanted me to be her barbie doll!? "What? Wh-What do you mean?"

Alice scoffed at me, her voice sounding like tiny bells. "Fine, fine, but on your -next- trip to Seattle, you and I are going to have to go shopping."

The idea of hours of dressing rooms made my stomach knot. "Alice...you're making her green."

A voice I'd never heard spoke a bit away from us, and I looked to see Jasper a bit closer to us. For some reason when he was around, I felt calmer, safe, and it even made me happy. Maybe going shopping with Alice wouldn't be as terrible as shopping with my mom. After all, what were the chances of Alice bringing me a T-shirt with a sassy Duck on the cover 'because it's just so cute'. Watching Alice's attire, the fear hit me that I would probably come home covered in ruffles, but it didn't bother me as much as it would have a minute ago.

"Jazzy," Alice said, her face lighting up when Jasper's voice sprang up. "Don't you think Bella is wearing the entirely wrong color?"

Jasper's face knotted up in pain, and for a second I think we had the same facial expression. "Not if she likes it, darling."

It was so weird to be a third wheel and not be uncomfortable, their happiness made me happy. Even as Alice scoffed from the losing argument of trying to discuss fashion with a boy, she chuckled and danced over to engulf Jasper in her arms.

Jasper looked uncomfortable to be hugged in public; but, otherwise happy to be in her arms. For a few moments, I didn't miss Edythe so badly, but still, this reminded me that she wouldn't be in Biology today. She was probably having a great time in the mountains.

"Yes," Alice suddenly said, looking at me.

I blinked from surprise. "What?"

Alice smirked at me. "Edythe, Emmett, and Rosalie go hiking in Goat Rocks a lot, and we usually join them, but I had an assignment to do."

I really hadn't asked; but, it was nice to hear that Edythe was going to have a fun weekend. Even though it was really – really – strange that Alice guessed so well on that. Alice had let go of Jasper now; but, she was leaning on his arm like she was a cat and he – a wall corner she had to rub her face against.

"It's...nice to meet you, Bella," Jasper finally breathed out at me, and I offered a smile his way. His smile was so nice, that for a second I remembered Jessica's 'game'. Which boy would I ask to the dance if they were single? Edythe, if she was a boy. Jasper might be a close second, being so handsome and having such a pleasant southern accent. Pity I didn't like him that way, Jessica seemed to like -all- cute boys that way. I shook my head, ridding myself of that thought.

"Same."

Alice turned around, nestling herself against Jasper's stomach, for a backwards hug. "So, Jasper, Bella may start coming around our house more often – do you think you can convince Rosalie to be nice?"

My stomach lurched, remembering Rosalie's unpleasant 'Lauren-esque' stare at me.

"I'll try, ma'am," he wryly replied, and Alice danced on the balls of her feet without actually moving more than a little sway in answer. I hadn't even been asked to go to their house, but if Edythe wanted me to come over...it would be the safest place.

They started off, then, walking and dancing away from me before I could say anything more. I didn't quite understand why until the Lunch bell rang. They all had such strangely impeccable awareness of whenever class started and ended…

Not wanting to call out after them and be noticed, I watched the happiest pair in the world until Alice split off to go to a different building, and I scurried away to Biology.

That night, at dinner, Charlie seemed very enthusiastic about my trip to La Push in the morning. I think he felt guilty for leaving me home alone on the weekends; but, he'd spent too many years building his habits to beak them now. Of course, he already knew all the names of the kids going – along with their parents, and possibly their great grandparents too. He seemed to approve, and I wondered to myself if he would approve of my plan to ride to Seattle with Edythe. Not that I was going to tell him about it…

"Hey, Dad, do you know a place called Goat Rocks? Or something like that? I think it's south of Mount Rainier?" I asked him casually, eating the last of the leftover enchiladas.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

I shrugged, playing it off as best I could. "Some kids I know were talking about camping there."

"Hrm...that is -not- a good place for camping," he mentioned, sounding surprised. "Far too many bears in those parts. Most people only go up there during the hunting season."

"Oh," I murmured quietly. "Maybe I misheard them."

After the lack of sleep the previous night, I thought I might sleep in, but an unusual brightness woke me. Opening my eyes, I saw a clear yellow light streaming through my window. I couldn't believe it, and I rushed from my bed to check. Sure enough, there was the sun! It was in the wrong place in the sky, too low, and not as close as it should be; but, it was definitely the sun. Clouds ringed the horizon; but, a large patch of blue was visible in the middle. Lingering by the window as long as I could, even sitting in my mom's rocking chair for a while, I watched with trepidation that if I left the window the blue would disappear again.

Olympic Outfitters, The Newton's sporting goods store, was just north of town. I'd seen the store in passing, but I'd never stopped there – not having much of a need for any supplies required for being outdoors over an extended period of time. In the parking lot, I recognized Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra as I pulled up next to their vehicles. I could see a group standing around in front of the Suburban. Eric was there, along with two other boys I had class with; I was fairly sure their names were Ben and Conner. Jess was there, flanked by Angela and Lauren. Three other girls stood with them, including one I remembered falling over in Gym on Friday. That one gave me a dirty look as I got out of the truck, and whispered something to Lauren. Who of course shook out her long, dark, hair and eyed me scornfully. Great...so it was going to be one of -those- days.

At least Mike and Angela were happy to see me.

"Bella! You came!" he called, delightedly. "I -told you- it would be sunny today, didn't I!"

"Yeah, you were right," I enthused more than I felt with Lauren and the other girl loathing me.

"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha...unless you invited someone," Mike questioned.

"No, Alice had plans this weekend, whole family went camping," I said, making it a point not to mention Edythe's name around Mike, for the sake of his pride. Mike looked happily satisfied, and I rued to myself that Edythe or Alice – who I completely hadn't asked – would magically show up.

"Will you ride in my car? It's that's or Lee's mom's Minivan."

"Your car sounds great, Mike, thanks."

He smiled blissfully, and it was a relief to see how easy it was to make Mike happy.

"You can have shotgun," he promised, and I held up my hands playfully and shook my head to hide my chagrin. It wasn't as easy to make Mike and Jessica happy, and I could already feel her glowering at us now.

"No, no, I already promised Jessica shotgun," I enthused, glancing at Jessica to see if she would be willing to take the bait and ask. It took her a few seconds, but she perked up and walked over from Lauren.

"Yeah, she totally did! Thanks, Bella."

Reassured that Jessica wasn't completely won over by whatever venom Lauren was spewing, I felt a light smile creep over my face in victory.

The numbers ended up working out in my favor, though. Lee brought two extra people, and suddenly every seat was necessary. I managed to encourage Jessica to sit in the middle of Mike and I, in the front seat of the Suburban. Mike seemed to be a little disappointed about it, but I kept giving him friendly smiles and 'thumbs up' when he looked my way to show I was glad to be where I was.

Jessica and Mike chattered constantly, which was wonderful. I didn't have to talk very much.

The drive to La Push from Forks was only about fifteen miles. Gorgeous, dense, green forests edging the road most of the way made the drive more wonderful. The wide Quillayute River snaking beneath us twice. I was glad I had the window seat and that we'd rolled the windows down – the Suburban was a bit claustrophobic with nine people in it – and I wanted to absorb as much sunlight as possible.

I'd been to beached around La Push before, many times during my Summers with Charlie, so the mile-long crescent of First Beach was familiar to me. It was still breathtaking. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving against the rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring, firs. The beach only had a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it drew into millions of large, smooth, stones that looked uniform-ally gray from the distance; but, up closer they were every shade a stone could be: terracotta, sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with large driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the edge of the forest fringe. Some laying just solitary, just out of reach of the waves.

There was a brisk wind coming off the waves, cool and briny. Pelicans floated on the swells while seagulls and a lone eagle wheeled above them. The clouds still circled the sky, threatening to invade at any moment; but, for now the sun shone bravely in its halo of blue sky. We picked our way down to the beach, Mike leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties like ours before. There was a fire circle already in place, filled with black ashes. Eric and the boy I thought was named Ben gathered broken branches of driftwood from the drier places along the forest edge, and soon had a teepee-shaped construction built atop the old cinders.

"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire, Bella?" Mike asked me. I was sitting on one of the bone-colored 'benches', the other girls were clustered and gossiping excitedly, o the other side of me. Mike knelt by the fire, lighting one of the smaller sticks with a cigarette lighter.

"No, just regular wood," I said as he placed the blazing twig carefully against the teepee of wood.

"You'll like this then – watch the colors." He lit another small branch, and laid it alongside the first. The flames started to lick quickly up the sides of the dry wood.

"It's blue," I said in surprise.

"The salt does it. Pretty, isn't it?" He lit one more piece, placed it where the fire hadn't yet caught, and then came to sit by me. Thankfully, Jess was on his other side. She turned to him, eagerly claimed his full attention, and I took a breath of relief. I watched the strange blue and green flames crackle toward the sky, content that no one was trying to talk to me for a little while.

After a half hour of chatter, some of the boys wanted to hike to the nearby tidal pools. It was a dilemma for me. On the one hand, I loved the tide pools. The had fascinated me since I was little – one of the only things I ever looked forward to about coming to Forks as a child. On the other hand, I'd fallen into them a lot. Not a big deal when you're seven with your dad; but, it reminded me of Edythe's sincere request for me – not – to fall into the ocean.

Lauren was the one who made my decision for me. She didn't want to hike, and she was definitely wearing the wrong shoes for it. Most of the other girls besides Angela and Jessica decided to stay on the beach as well, and the idea of being anywhere with Lauren without a buffer made up my mind completely. I waited until Tyler and Eric made their decision before I got up quietly to join the pro-hiking group. Mike gave me a huge smile when he saw I was coming, and I returned the smile before looking at Eric and Angela. Who had gotten really close, lately.

Who knew I had a gift for matchmaking?

The hike wasn't too long, though I hated to lose sight of the sky while we went through the woods. The green light of the forest was strangely at odds with the adolescent laughter – too murky and ominous to be in harmony with the light banter around me. I had to watch each step I took very carefully, avoiding roots below and the branches above – so I soon fell behind the others. Eventually I broke through the emerald confines of the forest and found the rocky shore again. It was low tide, and a tidal river flowed past us on its way to the sea. Along its pebbled banks, shallow pools that never completely drained were teeming with life.

Extra cautious not to lean too far over the little ocean ponds, amazement still captured me after all these years. The others were fearless, leaping over the rocks, perching precariously on the edges. I found a very stable-looking rock on the fringe of one of the largest pools and I sat there cautiously – spellbound by the natural aquarium below me. The bouquets of brilliant anemones undulated ceaselessly in the invisible current, twisted shells scurried about the edges, obscuring the crabs within them, starfish stuck motionless to the rocks and each other, while one black eel with white racing stripes wove through the bright green weeds, waiting for the sea to return. I was completely absorbed, except for one part of my mind that wondered what Edythe was doing now, and trying to imagine what she would be saying if she were here with me.

Eventually, the boys were hungry, and I got up stiffly to follow them back. I tried to keep up with the group better this time through the woods, so naturally I fell a few times. I got some shallow scrapes on my palms, and the knees of my jeans were stained green; but, it could have been a lot worse.

When we got back to First Beach, the group we'd left behind had multiplied. As we got closer, we could see the shining, black hair and copper skin of the newcomers, teenagers from the reservation who had come by to socialize.

Food was already being passed around, and the boys hurried to claim a share while Eric introduced us as we entered the driftwood circle. Angela, Eric, and I were the last to arrive, and as Eric said our names, I noticed a boy sitting on the shores near the fire glance up at me in interest. I sat down next to Angela, and Mike brought us sandwiches and an array of sodas to chose from, while a boy who looked to be the oldest of the visitors rattled off the names of the other seven with him. All I caught was that one of the girls was also named Jessica, and the boy who noticed me was Jacob.

It was relaxing to sit with Angela; she was a restful person to be around – she didn't feel the need to fill every silence with chatter. She left me free to think undisturbed while we ate, and I was thinking about how disjointedly time seemed to flow in Forks – passing in a blur at times, with single images standing out more clearly than others. At other times, every second was significant, etched in my mind. I knew exactly what had caused the difference, and it unsettled me. During lunch, the clouds started to advance, slinking across the blue sky, darting in front of the sun momentarily and causing long shadows across the beach; blackening the waves.

As they finished eating, people started to drift away I twos and threes. Some walked down to the edge of the waves, trying to skip rocks across the choppy surface of the ocean. Others were gathering for a second expedition of the tide pools. Mike – with Jessica shadowing him – headed up to the one shop in the village nearby. Some of the local kids went with them; others went along for the hike. By the time they all scattered, I was sitting alone on my driftwood log, with Lauren and Tyler occupying themselves with a CD player someone had thought to bring, and three teenagers from the reservation perched around the circle. Including Jacob and the oldest boy, who had acted as a spokesperson.

A few minutes after Angela and Eric left with the hikers, Jacob sauntered over to take her place by my side. He looked my age, and had long – glossy – black hair pulled back with a rubber-band at the mane of his neck. His skin was beautiful, silky and russet-colored; his eyes were dark, set above the high planes of his cheekbones. He still had just a hint of childish roundness left around his chin. Altogether, a very handsome face. However, my positive opinion of his looks was damaged by the first words out of his mouth.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?"

Ah, it was just like the first day of school all over again.

"Just Bella," I sighed.

"I know you – I'm Jacob Black" – he held his hand out in a friendly gesture" –you bought my dad's truck."

"Oh," I said, relieved, shaking his sleek hand. "You're Billy's son, then, wow, I didn't recognize you."

"Nah, I think you spent more time with my sisters."

"Rachel and Rebecca," I suddenly recalled with enthusiasm. Charlie and Billy had thrown us together a lot during my visits, to keep us busy while they fished. We were all too shy to make much progress as friends. Of course, I'd kicked up enough tantrums to end the fishing trips by the time I was eleven.

"Are they here?" I asked, examining the water's edge.

"No," Jacob shook his head. "Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca married this Samoan surfer – she lives in Hawaii now."

"Married. Wow," I was a little stunned. The twins were only a little over a year older than I was, if I remembered correctly.

"So, how do you like the truck?" He asked.

"I love it, he runs great."

Jacob seemed to raise an eyebrow at me calling the truck 'he', but he didn't comment. "Yeah, but it's – really – slow," he laughed. "I was so relieved when Charlie bought it. My dad wouldn't let me work on building another car when we had a 'perfectly good vehicle' right there."

"It's not -that- slow..." I objected.

"Have you tried to go over sixty?"

"No," I said with a laugh.

"Good. Don't," he grinned.

I couldn't help but grin back, his smile was infectious. "He does great in a collision though," I offered in the Beast's defense.

"Yeah, I don't think a tank could take out that monster," he agreed with another laugh.

"He's a good Beast,' I said, and Jacob chuckled. "So, you build cars?"

"When I have the free time, and the parts. You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on a master cylinder for a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit?" He asked jokingly, his voice pleasantly husky as he spoke.

I snorted. "Sorry, I all you just said was alien code." Jacob was very easy to talk to, and he flashed me a brilliant smile – looking at me appreciatively in a way I was learning to recognize. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who noticed that Jacob had taken a shine to me.

"You know Bella, Jacob?" Lauren asked – in what I imagined was an insolent tone – from across the fire-pit.

"We've sort of known each other since we were born," he laughed, smiling at me again.

"How nice..." Lauren replied, with heavy sarcasm in her nasally voice, her fishy eyes narrowing.

"Bella," she called again, watching my face carefully. "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad the Cullens couldn't come out today, didn't anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of fake concern wasn't convincing. Did she not hear the excuse I gave to Mike?

Before I could answer, someone else spoke. The tall, older, boy – much to Lauren's irritation. He was closer to a man than a boy, and his voice was very deep.

"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?"

"Yes, do you know them?" She asked condescendingly, turning half-way toward him.

"The Cullens don't come here," he said in such an authoritative tone that it closed the subject instantly.

What did that even mean? 'The Cullens don't come here'.

Tyler, trying to win back Lauren's attention, asked her opinion on a CD he held up. Blessedly distracted from trying to get to whatever point she was hoping to make, I stared at the deep-voiced boy, taken aback; but, he was looking out toward the dark forest behind us. He had said the Cullens didn't come here, but his tone implied something more...that they weren't allowed; they were prohibited. His manner left a strange impression on me, and I tried to ignore it without success.

Jacob interrupted my meditation. "So, is Forks driving you insane yet?"

My eyes playfully widened in exasperation. "You have no idea," I said with a grimace, and he grinned with understanding.

Still turning over the brief comment that the older boy made about the Cullens, I had a sudden inspiration. It was a really stupid plan; but, I didn't have any better ideas. I hoped that Jacob was inexperienced around girls, so that he wouldn't see through my sure-to-be-pitiful attempts at flirting.

"Do you want to talk down the beach with me, Jacob?" I asked, trying to imitate the way Edythe had looked up from underneath her long eyelashes. It clearly couldn't have the same effect, of that I was certain, but Jacob jumped up willingly enough.

As we walked north across the multi-hued stones towards the driftwood seawall, the clouds finally closed ranks across the sky – causing the sea to perpetually darken and the temperature to drop. I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my jacket.

"So you're what, eighteen?" I asked, trying not to look like an idiot as I fluttered my eyelids the way I'd seen girls do it on TV.

"Nah, I just turned seventeen," he confessed, clearly flattered.

"Really?" My face was full of false surprise. "I would have thought you were older."

"I'm taller than most," he explained, which wasn't a lie, but he wasn't exactly six feet tall, either.

"Do you come up to Forks much?" I asked archly, as if I was hoping for a 'yes'. I sounded despairingly stupid to myself, and I was afraid he would turn on me with disgust and accuse me of my fraud, but he still seemed naively flattered.

"Not too much," he admitted with a frown. "But, when I get the car finished I can go up as much as I want."

"Who was that other boy that Lauren was talking to? He seemed a little old to be hanging out with us," I purposefully lumped myself in with the youngsters, trying to make it clear I preferred Jacob.

"That's Sam – he's almost twenty," Jacob informed me.

"What did he mean by 'The Cullens don't come here'," I said in as comically gruff a voice as I could muster.

Jacob snickered. "You caught that, did you?" He paused, then shrugged. "They aren't supposed to come onto the Reservation." He mentioned, looking away toward James Island, as he confirmed what I thought I heard in Sam's voice.

"How come?"

He glanced back at me, biting on his lip. "Oops. I'm not supposed to say anything about that."

"Oh," I tried to sound as girly as possible. "I won't tell anyone, I'm just curious," I tried to make my smile alluring, but I wondered if I was laying it on too thick.

He smiled back, though, looking quite allured. Then lifted one eyebrow, and his voice was huskier than before.

"That depends...do you like scary stories?" He teased me ominously.

"I love them," I enthused, making an effort to smolder at him. Jacob strolled to a nearby driftwood tree that had its roots sticking out like the attenuated legs of a huge, pale, spider. He perched lightly on one of the twisted roots while I sat beneath him on the body of the tree. He stared down at the rocks, a smile hovering around the edges of his broad lips. I could see he was going to try to make this entertaining. I focused on keeping the 'vital interest' that I felt pooling out of my eyes.

"Do you know any of our old legends, about where we came from – the Quileutes, I mean?" He began.

"Not really," I admitted.

"Well, there are a lot of legends, some of them claiming to date back to the Flood – supposedly the ancient Quileutes tied their canoes to the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark," he smiled, to show me how little stock he put in these histories.

"Another legend claims we descended from wolves – and that the wolves are our brothers still. It's against tribal law to kill them," he paused to take a breath.

"Then there are the stories about the 'cold ones'," his voice dropped lower.

"The 'cold ones'?" I asked, not faking my intrigue now.

"Yes. There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some are much more recent. According to my legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off of our land." He rolled his eyes.

"Your great-grandfather?" I encouraged.

"He was a tribal elder, like my father. You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf – well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men – like our ancestors. You would call them 'werewolves'."

"Werewolves have enemies, huh?" I asked, knowing from some horror movies how that went along, but those were just silly Hollywood entertainment.

"Only one."

I stared at him earnestly, hoping to disguise my impatience to know as 'admiration'.

"So you see," Jacob continued, "the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did – they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they would promise to stay off of our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces." He winked at me, who was clearly a pale face if he ever saw one.

"If they weren't dangerous, then why are you trying to scare me?" I teased, struggling not to let him see how seriously I was considering his silly ghost story.

"Well, there's always a risk for humans to be around 'cold ones', even if they're civilized like this clan was. You never know when they might get too hungry to resist..." He deliberately worked a thick edge of menace into his town.

"What do you mean by 'civilized'?"

"They claimed to be different, that they didn't hunt for humans. They were supposed to somehow be able to prey on animals instead."

I tried to keep my voice casual. "So how does that fit into the Cullens? Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?"

"No," he paused dramatically. "They're – the same – ones." He must of thought the expression on my face was fear inspired by his story. He smiled, pleased at himself, and continued.

"There are more of them now, a new female and a new male; but, the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time, they already knew of the leader – Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people arrived." He was fighting a smile, still trying to spook me.

"And what are they?" I finally asked. "What exactly are the 'cold ones'?"

He smiled darkly. "Blood drinkers," he replied in a chilling voice. "Vampires."

I stared out at the rough surf after he answered, not sure what my easy to read face was exposing. I didn't know from movies that vampires had super strength, but the dazzling, mesmerizing, hypnotism – yes. Had Edythe been hypnotizing me? Was this real? Did she really care about me? Is that why she went to Goat Rocks? To hunt animals?

"You have goosebumps," he laughed delightedly.

"Well, you're a good storyteller," I complimented him, still staring into the waves.

"Pretty crazy stuff, though, isn't it? No wonder my dad doesn't want us to talk to anyone about it."

"So, he thinks the stories are real," I pressed, not looking at him.

Jacob scoffed, chuckling at me. "My dad's kind of a crackpot, but our legends are all he has."

"I guess you just violated the treaty, then," I teased.

He covered his mouth and snickered. "Oops."

"Don't worry, I won't give you away," I reassured, sincerely, even if I couldn't control my expression enough to risk looking at him yet.

"Seriously, though, don't say anything to Charlie. He was pretty mad at my dad when he heard some of us weren't going to the hospital since Dr. Cullen started working there."

So that's why Charlie was upset. "I won't, of course not."

"So, do you think we're a bunch of superstitious natives, or what?" he asked in a playful tone; but, with a hint of worry to his voice. I still hadn't looked away from the ocean. My thoughts ran heavily from what he'd told me.

I turned and smiled to him as warmly as I could. "No, I think you're very good at telling scary stories, though – look, I still have goosebumps," I said as I raised my arm, lying to his face as I raised my arm for him to see.

"Cool," he smiled.

It was then that the sound of the beach rocks clattering against each other warned us that someone else was approaching. Our heads snapped up at the same time to see Mike and Jessica about fifty yards away, walking toward us.

"There you are, Bella!" Mike called warmly in relief, waving his arm over his head.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Jacob whispered to me, alerted by the jealous edge in Mike's voice. I was surprised it was so obvious to him.

"No, definitely not. My friend Jessica likes him," I whispered back, tremendously grateful to Jacob and eager to make him as happy as I could. Playfully winking at him, or uh, weirdly blinking, I turned away from Jacob then to look at Mike and wave.

"So, when I get my car fixed up..."

"You should definitely come see me in Forks. We could hang out sometime," I said, feeling guilt overwhelm me as I spoke – knowing how raw I'd used him. I really did like Jacob, he could easily be someone I could be friends with, but I didn't feel any deeper for him.

Mike had reached us now, with Jessica a few paces back. I could see his eyes appraising the 'competition', and looking genuinely concerned.

"Where have you been?" He asked, even though the answer was obviously in front of his face.

"Jacob was just telling me some of the local stories," I volunteered. "About the beach," I corrected, in case Mike wanted to hear them. "It was really interesting."

I smiled warmly at Jacob, and he grinned back.

"Well," Mike paused, clearly uneasy as he watched my camaraderie. "We're packing up – it looks like it's going to rain soon."

We all looked up at the glowering, ominous, sky. It certainly did look like rain, and I frowned.

"Alright," I jumped up. "Hang on, I'm coming."

"It was nice to see you again," Jacob said, and I could tell he was taunting Mike just a little bit.

"It really was, next time Charlie comes down to see Billy, I'll come, too." I promised.

"That would be cool!"

Jacob stood when I did, and it was a little uncomfortable when he wrapped his lanky arms around me. But, I hugged him back with enough enthusiasm to reassure him, without overwhelming Mike's jealous nature.

"And thanks, for telling me," I added, earnestly.

Jacob walked with us as I pulled up my hood, trampling across the rocks toward the parking lot. A few drops were beginning to fall, making black spots on the stones where they landed. When we got back to the Suburban, the others were already loading everything back inside. I crawled into the backseat with Angela and Eric – announcing that I'd already had my turn in the shotgun position. Angela just stared out the window at the escalating storm, when she wasn't talking with Eric. I noticed they were holding hands, and smiled to myself. It was good to have the other window seat. Lauren was in the middle seat in front of me, occupying Tyler's attention, so I could simply lay my head back on the seat and close my eyes...trying very hard not to think; but, to no avail.

The Cullens were vampires. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Carlisle being so young, adopting 'children' who were nearly grown. All living in the same house together. How fast Edythe was able to get across the parking lot and shove the blue van to save me – a vampire could sometimes even have super strength or other abilities. The way her eyes were gold or black, that wasn't normal either. She could see from all the way across the school and parking lot when I was sick and Mike was carrying me to the nurse's office. Making it there to me without even noticing – how fast she got our bags. Why her family never sat with anyone else.

Jacob's father, Billy, was not a man I had met very often in my life – but I knew him well enough to know that he was like my father. He wouldn't believe something that wasn't proven to be true, it was part of why they were such good friends over the years. Jacob may think it was all hokum, but, I had seen enough evidence to know that it wasn't.

Edythe, Alice, Jasper, all of them...they were vampires.

My mind drifted back to the lunch table, Alice taking a sip of Pepsi, only to lower the can and it was completely full. No wonder they had so much money to spend – they never had to buy food.

It haunted me though, were her feelings genuine? Or was I just mesmerized by some vampire spell?


	8. Chapter Seven - Cold Ones

_This chapter was a lot shorter than I remembered, and not too much was altered from the original. Besides the fact that my Bella probably inwardly rambles a great deal more than the other. Also, I promised a conversation between Bella and Edythe, and Edythe was actually not in this chapter, so - I'm thinking Chapter Eight will be the exciting one._

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

* * *

By the time I got home, I was desperate to shut my mind so I didn't keep replaying what Jacob told me over and over again in my head. Charlie was on the couch, watching some kind of basketball game that he was excited about. He called to me, but seemed too invested in the game to turn his head to look at me.

"Hey, Bells, did you have fun?"

Taking off my damp coat, I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Yeah, it was great. I'm super tired though, I'm gonna go upstairs."

"Okay, honey," I looked his way, he was still mesmerized by the screen. About what, I had no idea.

Once inside my room, I locked my door and dug through my desk until I found my old headphones and plugged them into my little CD player. Choosing a CD that Phil had given me last Christmas, I popped it into the cork and shut the lid. I wasn't sure why Phil had given me this CD, as it had too much bass and screaming than the kind of music I usually liked, but I remembered it was loud and obnoxious as I laid on my bed. Slipping the headphones on, kicking off my shoes, and hitting 'play', I turned up the volume until it almost hurt my ears. Closing my eyes, though the light still intruded, I added a pillow over the top half of my face as the sound funneled into my skull.

I concentrated very carefully on the music, err screaming, trying to understand the lyrics – to unravel the meaning behind the complicated drum patterns. By the third time I'd listened through the CD, I knew all the words to the choruses, at least. It surprised me that I ended up liking the band after all, once I got past the initial blaring noise. I'd have to thank Phil, again, sometime. The music worked, though, the shattering beat made it impossible for me to think – much less obsess over the truth. I listened to the CD again and again, until I was badly singing along with all the songs, until, finally, I fell asleep.

Opening my eyes to a familiar place, aware in some corner of my consciousness that I was dreaming, I recognized the green light of the forest. I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks somewhere nearby. My only impulse spurring me forward – that if I could find the ocean, I'd be able to see the sun. I was trying to follow the sound; but, then Jacob Black was there, tugging on my hand, pulling me back toward the darkest part of the forest.

"Jacob, what's wrong? Why are you pulling me?" I asked. His face was petrified; he yanked with all his strength against my resistance. I didn't want to go back into the dark, I needed to be in the sun.

"Please, Bella, you have to run!" He whispered, terrified.

"This way!" Mike's voice called out from the gloomy heart of the trees, but I couldn't see him.

"Why?" I demanded, still tugging against Jacob's grasp – desperate to find the sun.

Jacob suddenly let go of my hand and yelped, shaking like a leaf as he fell to the dim forest floor. He twitched on the ground as I watched in horror.

"Jacob!" I screamed – but he was already gone!

In his place was a large, russet-brown, wolf with black eyes. The wolf faced away from me, pointing toward the shore, the hair on the back of his shoulders bristling with anger. Low growls issuing forth from between his exposed fangs.

"Bella, Run! Please!" Mike cried out from behind me; but, I didn't run. I was watching a light coming toward me from the beach.

When the light finally slipped through the trees, Edythe stepped out from behind the massive trunks; her skin glowing faintly, her eyes black and dangerous. She held up one hand, beckoning me to come to her, and the wolf growled at my feet.

Unable to resist, I took a step forward, toward Edythe. She smiled then, so genuinely happy that joy consumed her face. Her teeth were sharp and pointed…

"Trust me," she purred.

I took another step.

The wolf launched himself across the space between me and the glorious vampire, fangs aiming for her jugular.

"No!" I creamed, wrenching upright in my bed.

The sudden movement caused the headphones to pull the CD player off the bedside table, and with a large clunk it clattered against the wooden floor. It sounded like the CD had popped out or shattered.

My bedroom light was still on, and I was sitting fully dressed on the bed. Glancing about, disoriented, at the clock on my dresser – it was five-thirty in the morning.

With a groan, I fell back and rolled over onto my face. Too uncomfortable to get anywhere near sleep, I rolled back over, unbuttoned my jeans, and yanked them off awkwardly as I tried to stay horizontal. I could feel the braid in my head, an uncomfortable ridge along the back of my skull. Turning on my side, tugging the rubber band out, I quickly combed through my hair with my fingers. Pulling the second pillow back over my eyes.

It was no use, of course. My subconscious had dredged up exactly the images I had been trying so desperately to avoid. I had to think them through again, I needed to. I couldn't bear to have any more distracts to stop me from obsessing about this.

I sat up, and my head spun for a minute as the blood flowed downward. First things first, I thought to myself – happy to put it off for as long as possible – I grabbed my bathroom bag.

The shower didn't last nearly as long as I hoped it would, though. Even taking the time to blow-dry my hair, I was soon out of things to do in the bathroom. Wrapped in a towel, I crossed back to my window, and the cruiser was gone. Fishing again, no doubt. Otherwise he wouldn't have left this early. I dressed slowly, slid on clean jeans and a loose navy t-shirt and then made my bed – something I never did. I couldn't put it off any longer, so I went to my desk and switched on my old computer.

It was awful using the internet here. The modem was sadly outdated, my free service substandard; just dialing up took so long that I decided to go get myself a bowl of cereal while I waited.

I ate slowly, chewing each bite of Raisin Bran with care, and when I was done I washed the bowel and spoon and dried them. My feet dragged as I climbed back up the stairs, heading to where my CD player was. It wasn't as damaged as I thought it might be, CD players could be surprisingly sturdy sometimes; but, the CD had popped out of the machine. It wasn't scratched or broken, and that was a relief. Sticking the headphones and CD player into the desk drawer, I went back to my computer...which was coated in pop-up ads. I sat hard in my folding chair, and began closing all the little windows, until I eventually made it to my favorite search engine.

I shot down a few more pop-up ads and then typed in one word: Vampire.

After an infuriatingly long time to load, the results came up. There were so many results to sift through – everything from movies and TV shows to role-playing games, underground metal, and Gothic cosmetic companies – they overwhelmed me. I eventually found a promising site – Vampires A – Z. Waiting impatiently for it to load, quickly closing each ad that flashed across the screen, finally the website loaded. It was a simple white background with black text, academic-looking. Two quotes greeted me on the homepage: 'Through the vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons, there is no figure so terrible, no figure so dreaded and abhorred, yet dight with such fearful fascination, as the vampire – who is himself neither ghost, nor demon, but yet who partakes the dark natures and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both.' – Rev. Montague Summers.

'If there is, in this world, a well-attested account, it is that of the vampire. Nothing is lacking; official reports, affidavits of well-known people, of surgeons, of priests, or magistrates; the judicial proof is the most complete. And with all that, who is there who believes in vampires?' – Rousseau.

The rest of the side was an alphabetized listing of all the different myths of vampires held throughout the world. The first I clicked on, the Danag, was a Filipino vampire supposedly responsible for the planting of a sweet root vegetable called Taro on the islands long ago. The myth continued that the Danag worked with humans for many years, but the partnership ended one day when a woman cut her finger and the Danag sucked her wound, enjoying the taste so much that it drained her body completely of blood.

I read carefully through the descriptions, looking for anything that sounded familiar, let alone plausible. It seemed that most vampire myths centered around beautiful women as demons and children as victims, they also seemed like constructs created to explain away the high mortality rates of young children, and to give men an excuse for infidelity. Many of the stories involved bodiless spirits and warnings against improper burials. There wasn't much that sounded like the movies I had seen before, and only a very few – like the Hebrew Estrie and the Polish Upier, who ere even preoccupied with drinking blood.

Only three entries really caught my attention: the Romanian Varacolaci, a powerful undead being who could appear as a beautiful, pale-skinned human, the Slovak Nelapsi, a creature so strong and fast that it could massacre an entire village in the single hour after midnight, and another – the Stregoni benefici.

About this there was only one brief sentence:

'Stregoni benefici: An Italian vampire, said to be on the side of goodness, and a mortal enemy of all evil vampires'.

It was a relief, that one small entry, the one myth among hundreds that claimed the existence of good vampires.

Overall, though, there was little that coincided with Jacob's stories or my own observations. I'd made a little catalog in my mind as I'd read and carefully compared it with each myth I'd read. Speed, strength, beauty, pale skin, eyes that shift color – then Jacob's criteria: Blood drinkers, enemies of the werewolf, cold-skinned, and immortal. There were very few myths that matched more than one factor.

And then another problem, one I'd remembered from the small number of scary movies that I'd seen before, which had been backed up by today's reading:

Vampires couldn't come out in the daytime, the sun would burn them to a cinder. They slept in coffins, or dark places, and only came out at night. Aggravated, I snapped off the computer's main power switch, not bothering to shut things down properly. Through my irritation, I felt overwhelming embarrassment. It was all so stupid! I was sitting in my room, researching vampires! What was wrong with me? How wasn't I crazy? I decided that most of the blame belonged on the doorstep of the town of Forks – and the entire sodden Olympic Peninsula, for that matter.

Yes, Edythe could do amazing things – she had saved me from a van with her bare hands. She was certainly pale and beautiful, and her eyes changed color...but a vampire? A vampire who had been alive for God knew how many years? That was a stretch. Maybe science could prove they had superior genetics, and back then a tribe of natives didn't have any other term to call them; but, whenever Edythe touched me...it was frozen. When Alice had held my shoulders, they also were frozen. I pretended not to notice, because I didn't want to admit it to myself, but they were unnaturally cold.

Cold ones. Very cold, indeed, but vampires?

I had to get out of the house, but there was nowhere I wanted to go that didn't involve a three-day drive. Pulling on my socks and boots anyway, unclear where exactly I was going, I went downstairs. Shrugging into my now-dry raincoat, I didn't bother to try and check the weather before I stomped out the door.

It was overcast; but, not raining yet. Giving a loving pat to the hood of The Beast, I started eastward on foot, angling across Charlie's yard toward the ever-encroaching forest. It didn't take long until I was deep enough for the house and road to be invisible, for the only sound to be the squish of damp earth under my feet or the sudden cries of Jay-birds.

There was a thin ribbon of a trail that led through the forest here, or I wouldn't risk wandering on my own like this. My mom used to walk along here, or so Charlie said, and if she could handle it then surely I could, too. However, my sense of direction was hopeless; I could get lost in much less helpful surroundings. The trail wound deeper and deeper into the forest, mostly east as far as I could tell. I snaked around the Sitka spruces, the hemlocks, the yews, and the maples. I only vaguely knew the names of the many types of trees around me, and all I knew was from Charlie pointing them out to me from the Cruiser during my childhood visits. There were many I still didn't know, and others I couldn't be sure of because they were covered in green parasites. I followed the trail as long as my anger pushed me forward.

As that anger started to ebb, I slowed. A few drops of moisture trickled down from the canopy above me; but, I couldn't tell if it was beginning to rain or if was simply water that had pooled over from yesterday, held high in the leaves above me, slowly dripping down to earth. A recently fallen tree – I knew it was recent because it wasn't entirely carpeted in moss – rested against the trunk of one of her sisters, creating a sheltered little bench just a few feet off of the safety of the trail. I stepped over the ferns, and sat carefully, making sure my jacket was between the damp seat and my clothes wherever they touched, and leaned my hooded head back against the living tree.

This was the wrong place to have come, I should have known; but, where else was there to go? The forest was deep green and far too much like the scene in last night's dream to allow for any peace of mind to find me. Now that there was no longer the sound of soggy footsteps, the silence was piercing. The birds were too quiet, the drops increasing in frequency, so it must be raining above. The ferns stood higher than my head, now that I was settled, and I knew someone could walk by on the path, three feet away, and have a good chance of missing me.

Here in the trees, it was easier to believe the absurdities that embarrassed me indoors. Nothing had changed in this forest for thousands of years, and all the myths and legends of a hundred different lands seemed much more likely in this green haze than they had in my clear-cut bedroom.

I forced myself to focus on the most vital questions I had to answer; but, I did so unwillingly.

First, I had to decide if it was possible – despite my waffling back and forth on the issue – that what Jacob had said about the Cullens was true.

Immediately my logical mind responded with a resounding 'no'. It was silly, even morbid, to entertain such ridiculous notions. But what, then? I asked myself. There was no rational explanation for how I was alive at this very moment. I listed again, in my head, the things I'd observed myself – the impossible speed and strength, the way her eyes shifted from black to gold and back again – how they all never seemed to eat, the disturbing grace with which they moved...and also the way Edythe sometimes spoke, acted. With unfamiliar cadences and phrases better suited to fit the style of a turn-of-the-century novel than that of a twenty-first century classroom. She skipped class the day we'd done blood typing. She hadn't said she wasn't interested in going to the beach with me until I mentioned that it was on the Reservation. She told me she was the villain, dangerous…

Could the Cullens be vampires?

Well, they were something. Something outside the possibility of rational justification was taking place in front of my incredulous eyes. Whether it would be Jacob's 'cold ones' or my own superhero theory, Edythe Cullen was not a normal human...she was something more.

So then – maybe. That would have to be my answer for now.

So then, I had to face the most important question of all. What was I going to do if this was true?

If Edythe was a vampire – I could hardly make myself think the words – then what should I do?

Involving someone else was definitely out; but, I couldn't really involve anyone else anyway! It was hard enough that she was a girl, and I still couldn't get her out of my soul, her being a vampire was icing on the cake at this point. I could barely believe myself; anyone I told about her being a vampire would have me committed. Only two options seemed practical.

For the first, I could take her advice: be smart, avoid her as much as possible. Leave Forks after high school, go on with my life. Pretend there was an impenetrably thick glass wall between us in the one class we were forced together. To tell her to leave me alone – and mean it. Sudden agony, the painful squeeze of despair, choked me as I considered that alternative. My mind rejected the pain, quickly skipping on to the next option.

I could accept that I loved her, pretend she was no different than a human girl. After all, if she was something...sinister, she'd done nothing to hurt me so far. At face value, I would be a dent in Tyler's fender if she hadn't acted to quickly to rescue me. So quickly, I argued with myself, that it might have been sheer reflexes. But, if it was a reflex to save lives, how bad could she be? My head spun around in unanswered circles.

There was one thing I could be sure of, if I was sure of anything. The dark Edythe in my dream last night was a reflection only of my fear of the word Jacob had spoken, and not Edythe herself. Even so, when I'd screamed in terror at the werewolf's lunge, it wasn't fear for the wolf that had brought that scream to my lips. A scream so loud it woke me with a start. It was fear that she would be harmed – even as she called to me with sharp-edged fangs, I feared for her. The idea of losing her, of her dying, was too unbearable to cope with.

And I knew then that I had my answer. I didn't know if there was ever really a choice, my heart was already in too deep. Now that I knew – If I knew – there was nothing I could do about my frightening secrets. Because when I thought of her, of her voice, her beautiful eyes, the magnetic force of her personality. Her rich, velvet, voice, I wanted nothing more than to be beside her right now. Even if…

No, I couldn't think it here. Alone in the darkening forest. Not while the rain made it dim as twilight under the canopy and patterned like footsteps across the matted earthen floor. I shivered and rose quickly from my secret cave of ferns, worried that somehow the path would have vanished with the rain.

But it was there – safe and clear – winding its way out of the dripping, green, maze. I followed it hastily, my hood pulled close around my face. Surprised, as I nearly ran through the trees, at how far I had come. I started to wonder if I was heading out of the woods at all, or following the path further into the confines of the forest. Before I could get too panicky, though, I began to glimpse some open spaces through the webbed branches. Then I could hear a car passing the street, and I was free, Charlie's lawn stretched out in front of me. The house beckoning me, promising warmth and dry socks.

It was just noon when I got back inside, and I went upstairs and changed out of my now-wet clothes. Another pair of jeans, another t-shirt, since I planned on staying indoors. It didn't take too much effort to concentrate on my task for the day – a paper on Macbeth that was due next Wednesday, more serene than I'd felt since...well, last Thursday afternoon, if I was being honest with myself.

That had always been my way, though. Making decisions was the painful part for me, the part I agonized over. But once a decision was made, I simply followed through – usually with relief that the choice was made. Sometimes the relief was tainted with despair, like my decision to come to Forks. But it was still better than wrestling with other alternatives. This decision was ridiculously easy to live with. Dangerously easy. And so the day was quiet, productive – I finished my paper before eight. Charlie came home with a large catch, and I made a mental note to look for a book of recipes for fish while I was in Seattle next week. We, Seattle, next week.

Chills flashed up my spine whenever I thought of the secret trip with Edythe, and these chills were no different than the one's I'd felt before I'd taken my walk with Jacob. They should be different, I thought to myself. I should be afraid – very afraid – but I couldn't feel that kind of fear anymore. Only the fear of what was going to happen, how hard it was going to be if we became public, and ways we could minimize the damage for our families.

I slept dreamlessly that night, exhausted from beginning my day so early and sleeping so poorly the night before. I awoke, for the second time since arriving in Forks, to the bright yellow light of a sunny day. I skipped to the window, stunned to see that there was hardly a cloud in the sky, and those there were just fleecy little white puffs that couldn't possibly be carrying any rain. I opened the window – surprised when it opened silently, without sticking, not having opened it in God knows how many years – and sucked in the relatively dry air. It was almost warm, and hardly windy at all. My blood was electric in my veins. Charlie was finishing breakfast when I came downstairs, and he picked up on my mood immediately.

"Nice day out," he commented.

"Yes," I agreed with a grin.

He smiled back, his brown eyes crinkling around the edges. When Charlie smiled, it was easier to understand why he and my mom had jumped too quickly into an early marriage. Most of the young romantic he'd been in those days had faded before I got to know him, as the curly brown hair – the same color, if not the same texture as mine – had dwindled, slowly revealing more and more of the shiny skin of his forehead. But when he smiled, I could see a little of the man who had run away with Renee when she was just two years older than I was now.

I ate breakfast cheerfully, watching the dust moats stirring in the sunlight that streamed in from the back window. Charlie called out a goodbye, and I heard the cruiser pull away from the house. I hesitated on my way out the door, hand on my raincoat. It would be tempting fate to leave it at home, and with a sigh I folded it over my arm and stepped out into the brightest light I'd seen in months.

Fumbling with the roller, I managed to get both windows in the truck almost completely rolled down. My radio played the old rock station the best right now, so that was what blared out of the speakers as I drove my way to school. One of the first ones to school; I hadn't even bothered to check the clock in my hurry to get outside. I parked and headed toward the seldom-used picnic benches on the south side of the cafeteria. The benches were still a little damp, so I sat on my jacket, glad to have found a use for tagging it along.

My homework being done – the product of not having much of a social life – I took out my trig notebook to make sure I got all the problems right. Tugging the Trig book out of my backpack industriously, halfway through rechecking the first problem I was daydreaming, watching the sunlight play on the red-barked trees. I sketched inattentively along the margins of my homework, and after a few minutes I realized I'd drawn five pairs of dark eyes staring out of the page at me. Embarrassed, I scrubbed them out with my pencil eraser.

"Bella!" I heard someone call to me, and it sounded like Mike. I looked behind me to see that the school had become populated while I'd been sitting there, absentmindedly. Everyone was in T-shirts, some even in shorts, though the temperature couldn't be higher than sixty. Mike was coming toward me in beige khaki shorts and a striped rugby shirt – waving warmly at me.

"Hey, Mike," I called, waving back, unable to be half-hearted on a morning like this. The weather was perfect, and I would see Edythe later today.

He came to sit by me, his hair shining golden in the light; grin stretching across his face. He was so delighted to see me, I couldn't help but feel gratified.

"Wow, your hair is pretty," he commented. "I never noticed it has red in it," he commented, catching a loose strand between his fingers in the breeze.

"Only in the sun," I reassured, but I became just a little bit uncomfortable when he tucked the lock behind my ear.

"Great day, isn't it?"

"My kind of day," I agreed, soaking in the warmth on my face from the light.

"What did you do yesterday?" His tone was just a little bit too proprietary.

"Nothing exciting, mostly my essay," I didn't add that I'd already finished it – no need to sound smug.

He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Oh, yeah, that's due Thursday – right?"

"Um, Wednesday, I think."

"Wednesday?" He frowned. "That sucks...what are you writing yours on?"

"Whether Shakespeare's treatment of the female characters is misogynistic."

Mike stared at me like I'd spoken in pig Latin.

"Uh, I guess I'll have to start working on that tonight," he said, grimacing at himself. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out."

"Oh?" I was taken off guard. Why couldn't I have a pleasant conversation with Mike anymore without it getting awkward?

"Well, we could go to dinner or something...and I could work on it later," he smiled at me, hope brimming in his eyes.

"Mike..." I hated being put on the spot, and it showed in my voice no matter how kind I tried to make myself sound. "I don't think that would be the best idea."

His face fell. "Why?" He asked, his eyes guarded. My thoughts instantly went to Edythe; but, surely that wasn't what he was worried about – normal people didn't naturally assume someone was lesbian.

"I think...and if you repeat what I'm saying right now, I will happily beat you to death," I threatened. "That it would really hurt Jessica's feelings."

He was bewildered, which I couldn't understand at all. I'd told him how Jessica felt before, hadn't I?

"Jessica?"

I blinked at him in derision. "Really, Mike, you can't be -that- slow. She's my friend, she really likes you," I repeated to him, who knows how many times now. "If we went out, it would hurt her, and I don't want to lose any friends."

It wasn't a lie, even though Jessica and I weren't what anyone would call 'close'.

"Oh," he exhaled – clearly dazed. I took advantage of that to make my escape, tucking my book and notebook back into my backpack.

"It's time for class, I can't be late again," Gathering up my bag, I waved warmly and tried my best to scoot as fast as I could walk without tripping over myself.

When I saw Jessica in Trig, she was bubbling with enthusiasm. She, Angela, and Lauren, were going to Port Angeles tonight to go dress shopping for the dance, and she wanted me to come, too, even though I didn't need one.

"Please, Bella, you'll have to come. Bring Alice, too, if you want, I need advice – I have to look amazing next Saturday."

I was indecisive. It would be nice to get out of town with some 'girl friends', but Lauren would be there...and who knew what I could be doing tonight; but, that was definitely the wrong path to let my mind wander down. Of course I was happy about the sunlight; but, that wasn't completely responsible for the euphoric mood I was in, not even close.

"Alright, maybe, I'll need to ask my dad," oh what a tangled web we weave.

She talked of nothing outside of the dance on the way to Spanish, continuing as if without an interruption when class finally ended, and we were on our way to lunch. I was far too lost in my own frenzy of anticipation to notice much of what she said. I was painfully eager to see not just Edythe, but also Alice and Jasper – to compare them with the new suspicions that plagued my mind. As I crossed the threshold into the cafeteria, I felt the first true tingle of fear slither down my spine and settle into my stomach. Would they be able to know that I knew? And then a different feeling jolted through me – would Edythe still want to sit near me again? After I had been such a chicken last Thursday?

As per my routine, I glanced first toward the Cullen's family table. A shiver of panic trembling up from my stomach all over again as I realized the table was empty. With dwindling hope, my eyes scoured the rest of the cafeteria, hoping to find Edythe – even if she was alone and waiting for me at another table.

The place was nearly filled – Spanish had made us late – but there was no sign of any of her family. Desolation hit me with crippling strength, and I almost tripped over another student in line.

"Hey! Watch it!" It was the girl from Gym I'd tripped over the other day, who glared at me with Lauren on Saturday.

"S-sorry," I mumbled, moving like a zombie on autopilot through the lunch-line. Shambling along behind Jessica, not bothering to pretend to listen anymore.

We were late enough that everyone was already at our table. I avoided the one empty chair next to Mike in favor of the one beside Angela. I vaguely noticed that Mike held out the chair politely for Jessica, and that her face lit up in response.

Angela asked me a few quiet questions about the Macbeth paper, which I answered as naturally as I could while spiraling downward in misery. She, too, invited me to go with them tonight, and I agreed now, grasping at anything to distract myself.

Grief devoured what little hope I had left when I entered Biology and saw her empty chair. A fresh new wave of disappointment filled me as I sat down and pulled the chair into our lab desk. My eyes moving to her empty side of the desk, running over where she usually penned her flourish of penmanship into her notebook. The little nuances of her gestures, the way her hair fell when she looked down, like a curtain of bronzed golden-brown strands. What I imagined the straw turning into gold would look like when I read about Rumpelstiltskin. Gold around her perfect head.

Without realizing it, my left hand trailed over to her side of the table. Caressing where her book usually was, reminding myself of how vampires could be like ghosts. She was my ghost; but, imagining her next to me wasn't enough to wash away the melancholy.

In Gym, we had to listen to a lecture on the rules of badminton, the next torture they had lined up for me. But, at least it meant I got to sit and listen instead of stumbling around on the court. The best part was that the couch didn't finish, so I might even get another day off tomorrow. Never-mind that the day after they would arm me with a racket before unleashing me on the rest of the class…

I was glad to leave campus, so I would be free to pout and mope before I went out tonight with Jessica and Company. But, right after I walked in the door of Charlie's house, Jessica called to cancel out plans. I tried to be happy that Mike had asked her out to dinner – I really was relieved that he finally seemed to be catching on – but my enthusiasm sounded false in my own ears. She didn't seem to notice, and she rescheduled the shopping trip for tomorrow night.

Which left me with little in the way of distractions. I had fish marinating for dinner, with a salad and bread left over from the night before, so there was nothing to do there. I spent a focused half hour on my homework; but, then I was through with that, too. I checked my email, reading the backlog of letters from my mother – which were getting more and more snippy as the notes progressed to the present. I sighed and typed a quick response:

'Mom, Sorry, I've been out. I went to the beach with some friends on Saturday, and then I had to write a paper.'

My excuses were pretty pathetic, so I gave up on that.

'It's a sunny day outside – I know, I'm shocked, too – so I'm going to go outside and soak up as much vitamin D as I can. Love you, Bella'

Killing an hour with non-school-related reading, I had a small collection of books that came with me to Forks. The shabbiest volume being a compilation of the works of Jane Austen. I selected that one and headed to the backyard, grabbing a ragged old quilt from the linen cupboard at the top of the stairs on my way down.

Outside of Charlie's small, square, yard, I folded the quilt in half and laid it out of reach of the trees' shadows on the thick lawn that would always be slightly wet, no matter how long the sun shone. I lay on my stomach, crossing my ankles in the air, flipping through the different novels in the book, trying to decide which one would occupy my mind most thoroughly. My favorites were Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility. I'd read the first more recently, so I started into Sense and Sensibility, only to remember after I began reading that the hero of the story happened to be named Edward. The male name I had made up to stand for Edythe if I was going to tell my mom about a 'boy'. Reminded of her, and how she was gone today, I angrily shifted to Mansfield Park...only to read 'Edmund', which was too close for comfort. Weren't there any other names available in the late eighteenth century that didn't start with 'Ed'?

Snapping the book shut, annoyed, I rolled over onto my back on the quilt. Pushing my sleeves up as high as they would go, and closed my eyes. I would think of nothing but the warmth on my skin, I told myself severely. The breeze was still light, but it blew tendrils of my hair around my face, and that tickled me a bit. Pulling all my hair above my head, to let it fan out on the quilt above me, I focused again on the heat that touched my eyelids, my cheekbones, my nose, lips, forearms, neck, soaking through my light shirt…

The next thing I was conscious of was the sound of Charlie's cruiser turning onto the bricks of the driveway. I sat up in surprise, realizing the light was gone, behind the trees, and I had fallen asleep. I looked about, befuddled, muddled, with the sudden feeling that I wasn't alone anymore.

"Charlie?" I asked, but I could hear the front door slamming in front of the house.

Jumping up, foolishly edgy, I gathered the now-damp quilt and my book. Running inside to get some oil heating on the stove, realizing that dinner was late, I turned my head to look for my father. Charlie was hanging up his gun belt and stepping out of his boots when I peered out from the kitchen doorway.

"Sorry, Dad, dinner's not ready yet – I fell asleep," I stifled a yawn at the reminder.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a chuckle. "I wanted to catch the score on the game, anyway."

I watched TV with Charlie after dinner, for something to do. There wasn't anything on that I wanted to watch, but he knew I didn't like baseball, so he tried to turn it to some mindless sitcom that neither of us enjoyed. He seemed happy, though, to be doing something together. And it felt good, despite my depression, to see him happy about spending time with me.

"Hey, Dad," I said, during a commercial break. "Jessica and Angela are going to look at dresses tomorrow night in Port Angeles, and they wanted me to help them choose something...do you mind if I go with them?"

He narrowed one eye in thought. "Jessica Stanley?"

"Yeah, and Angela Webber," I sighed as I gave him the details. He was confused.

"But you're still not going to the dance, right?"

"Nah, which is kind of why they want me to go. Give an unbiased opinion on what they could wear, bring them dresses back and forth from the fitting rooms." While it was better living with my dad, if I was with mom, I wouldn't have to explain this to him.

"Well, okay, if you -want- to," he said, realizing he was out of his depth with the 'girlie stuff'. "It's a school night though."

"We'll leave right after school, so we can get back early. You'll be okay for dinner, though, right?"

He scoffed at me, amused as he drank from his can of A&W Root Beer. "Bells...I fed myself for seventeen years before you got here," he reminded me.

"I don't know how you survived," I muttered playfully, and then added more clearly: "I'll leave some things for cold-cut sandwiches in the fridge, okay? Right on top."

He gave me a playful scowl with his eyes before we went back to watching TV.

It was sunny again in the morning. I awakened with renewed hope that I grimly tried to suppress. Dressing for warmer weather in a deep blue V-neck blouse – something Id worn in the dead of winter in Phoenix. Surely Edythe would be at school today – she had to be – and I wanted to look my best. Planning my arrival so that I barely had time to make it to class to avoid conversation, I searched for the familiar silver Volvo. I drove around the parking lot twice – it wasn't there, and I parked in the last row dismally and hurried to English.

It was the same as yesterday – I couldn't help but keep small sprouts of hope from budding in my mind, only to have them painfully squashed when I searched the lunchroom in vain, and sat at my empty biology table. Had I hurt her more than I thought I did? Did she not want to be here at school with me? Did they all know I knew, and felt they had to leave town? The idea of never seeing her again ruined my appetite, I could barely get down another lemonade before the school day was out.

The Port Angeles plans were back on for tonight, and made all the more attractive because Lauren had other plans. I was anxious to get out of town, so I could stop glancing over my shoulder looking for Edythe and her siblings. Wishing she would just appear out of the blue, like she always did. Wasting my nice shirt for nothing seemed unfair, at any rate. Even if going to Port Angeles could hardly compare with seeing her again.

I vowed to myself that I would be in a good mood tonight, and not ruin Angela or Jessica's enjoyment during the dress-hunt. Maybe I could do a little clothes shopping myself, even if it wasn't for dresses. _'I have a blue dress Edythe would kill to see you in'_ Alice's voice rang in my ear. No. No dresses. I couldn't bear to consider that I might be shopping alone in Seattle this weekend, no longer interested in the earlier arrangement. Surely she wouldn't cancel without at least telling me, right?

After school, Jessica followed me home in her old white Mercury, so that I could ditch my books and truck. Brushing through my hair quickly when I was inside, a faint lift of excitement flushed through me as I contemplated getting out of Forks for a little while. I left a note for Charlie on the table, explaining again where to find dinner, switched my scruffy wallet from my school bag to a shoulder-strap knitted purse I rarely used, and ran out to join Jessica. We went to Angela's house next, and she was waiting for us enthusiastically. My excitement increased exponentially as we actually drove out of town.


	9. Chapter Eight - Stalker

_This was a fun chapter to rewrite, the rescue chapter~ I made a few mild changes, with the larger changes happening once Bella and Edythe are in the car together, onward. Several liberties were taken, but mostly I just let the moment sink in and kept going. Unlike most, I reread this chapter three times before I submitted it; but, if I messed up on any spelling errors or typos, please let me know in PM._

 _I'm still pretty giddy from finishing, the spirit is burning, and I am anxious to start on the next chapter and hurry along._

 _Thank you, guys, for pointing out the facts about Alice's turning, I think I am going to go with what GreenRaven wrote, and if/when it comes up, she was turned in the 1920s. I want to do more research about insane asylums in the 1920s, and re-read some of the last chapters of the book where Alice's plot twist was mentioned by "Super Hunter", hardy har har, before I start taking any extra liberties there. I know she was in an asylum, I want to look it up more thoroughly, but I need to remember what happened -after- that._

 _So I have my research to do! For now, you will just have to focus on Bella and Edythe._

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

* * *

Jess drove a lot father than Charlie, so we made it to Port Angeles by four pm. It had been a while since I'd had a girl's night out, and the estrogen rush was surprisingly invigorating. We listened to whiny rock songs while Jessica jabbered on about the boys we hung out with. Jessica's dinner with Mike had gone really well, and she was hoping by Saturday night that they would progress to the first-kiss stage. I smiled to myself, pleased. Angela wasn't exactly thrilled to be going to a crowded dance; but, she was excited to be going with Eric. Jess tried to press her for details about their own dating life, and I interrupted with a question about dresses to save her. Angela threw me a grateful glance my way.

Port Angeles was a beautiful little tourist trap, much more polished and quaint than Forks. But, Jessica and Angela knew it very well, so they didn't need plan on wasting time on the picturesque boardwalk by the bay. Jess drove to the one big department store in town, which was a few streets in from the bay area's visitor-friendly face.

The dance was billed as semi-formal, and we weren't exactly sure what that meant. Both Jessica and Angela seemed surprised and almost mortified when I told them I'd never been to a dance in Phoenix.

"Didn't you ever go with a boyfriend, or something?" Jess asked dubiously as we walked through the front doors of the store.

"No, I've never had a boyfriend, or anything close. I didn't go out much."

"Why not?" Jessica demanded.

"No one asked me," I answered honestly.

She looked at me skeptically. "People ask you out all the time here, apparently," she reminded me. "And you tell them all no." We were in the Junior's section now, scanning the racks for dressier clothes.

"Well, except for Tyler," Angela amended quickly.

"What?" I gasped, confused.

"Tyler's told everyone he's taking you to prom," Jessica informed me with suspicious eyes.

My hand rubbed my temple, a headache threatening to smart. "Ugh...He said that?" I sounded like I was choking.

"I -told- you it wasn't true," Angela murmured to Jessica, who relaxed after a moment. I was silent, still lost in shock that was quickly turning into irritation. We had found the dress racks now, though, and now we had work to do.

"That's why Lauren doesn't like you," Jessica said with a giggle as we pawed through the clothes.

I ground my teeth. "Do you think if I ran him over with my truck he would stop feeling guilty about that stupid accident?"

"Maybe," Jess snickered. "If that's why he's doing this."

The dress selection wasn't large; but, both of them found a few things to try on. I just sat on a low chair inside the dressing room, by a three-way mirror, trying to control my fuming.

Jess was torn between two of them – one a long, strapless, basic black number, the other a knee-length electric blue with spaghetti straps. I encouraged her to go with the blue; why not play up her eyes? Angela chose a pale pink dress that draped around her tall frame nicely and brought out the honey tints in her dark hair. I complimented them generously, and helped by returning the rejects to the clothing racks. The whole process was shorter, and easier, than similar trips I'd taken with Renee at home. I guess there was something to be said for limited choices. We headed over to shoes and accessories, and while they tried things on I merely watched and critiqued. Not in the mood to shop for myself, though I did need new shoes. The girls' night high was wearing off in the wake of my annoyance with Tyler, leaving room for more gloom to sink back in.

"Angela?" I began, hesitantly, while she was trying on a pair of strappy pink heels. She was overjoyed to have a date tall enough that she could wear high heels at all.

Jessica drifted to the jewelry counter, leaving us alone.

"Yes?" She held her leg out, twisting her ankle to get a better view of the shoe.

I chickened out. "I like those."

"I think I'll get them – though they'll never match anything but this one dress," she mused.

"Go ahead, though, they're on sale," I encouraged. She smiled, putting the lid back on the box that contained more practical-looking off-white shoes. I tried again to say what I had been too nervous to say before.

"Um, Angela..." she looked up at me curiously.

"Is it normal for the...Cullens" – I kept my eyes on her shoes – "to be out of school a lot?" I failed miserably in my attempts to sound nonchalant, so I quickly covered myself. "I was going to ask Alice to shop with us, but she hasn't been in school." Smooth.

"Yeah, whenever the weather is good, they all go backpacking all the time – even the Doctor. They're all real outdoorsy," she told me quietly, examining her shoes, too. She didn't ask me one question, let alone the hundreds that Jessica would have unleashed. I was beginning to really like Angela, she was a nice girl, and so shy – despite being tall and pretty behind her glasses.

"Oh," I calmly replied, letting the subject drop as Jessica returned to show us the rhinestone jewelry she'd found to match her silver shoes. We planned to go to dinner at a little Italian restaurant on the boardwalk, but the dress shopping hadn't taken as long as we'd expected. Jess and Angela were going to take their clothes back to the car and then walk down to the bay. I told them I would meet them at the restaurant in an hour – I wanted to look for a bookstore. They were both willing to come with me; but, I encouraged them to have fun – they didn't know how preoccupied I could get when surrounded by books; it was just something I preferred to do alone. They walked off to the car, chattering happily, and I headed in the direction Jess had pointed out.

I had no trouble finding the bookstore; but, it wasn't what I was looking for. The windows were full of crystals, dream-catchers, and books about spiritual healing. I didn't even go inside. Through the glass I could see a fifty-year-old woman with long, gray hair worn straight down her back, clad in a dress right out of the sixties, smiling welcoming-ly from behind the counter. There had to be a normal bookstore in this town, right?

I meandered through the streets, which were filling up with end-of-the-workday traffic, and hoped I was headed toward downtown. I wasn't paying much attention as I should to where I was going – I was wrestling with despair. I was trying so hard not to think about Edythe, and what Angela had said...and more than anything I was trying to beat down my hopes for Saturday – terrified of disappointment more painful than the rest. That she wouldn't just cancel our trip, her whole family would permanently vanish and I'd never see her again. As I walked, I saw someone's silver Volvo parked along the street, and it all came crashing down on me. Stupid, unreliable vampire, I thought to myself.

Stomping along in a southerly direction, toward some glass-fronted shops that looked promising, when I got to them they were just a repair shop and a vacant space. I still had too much time to go before looking for Jess and Angela, and I definitely needed to get a handle on my mood before I met back up with them.

Running my fingers through my hair a couple times, I took a few deep breaths before I continued around the corner. I started to realize, as I crossed another road, that I was going the wrong direction. The little foot traffic I had seen was going north, and it looked like the buildings here were mostly warehouses. I decided to turn east at the next corner, and loop around after a few blocks to try my luck on a different street on my way back to the boardwalk.

A group of four men turned around the corner I was heading for, dressed too casually to be heading home from the office; but, they were too grimy to be tourists. As they approached me, I realized they weren't too many years older than I was. They were joking loudly amongst themselves, laughing raucously and punching each others arms. I scooted as far to the inside of the sidewalk as I could to give them room, walking fast, looking past them to the corner.

"Hey, there!" One of them called as they passed, and he had to be talking to me since no one else was remotely around. I glanced up automatically. Two of them had paused, the other two were slowing. The closest, a heavyset dark-haired man in his early twenties, seemed to be the one who had spoken. He was wearing a flannel shirt open over a dirty T-shirt, cut-off jeans, and sandals. He took half a step toward me.

"Hey," I mumbled, a knee-jerk reaction; Quickly I looked away and walked faster toward the corner. I could hear them laughing at full volume behind me.

"Yo, wait!" One of them called after me again; but, I kept my head down and escaped around the corner with a gasp of relief. I could still hear them chortling behind me.

Walking along a sidewalk leading past the backs of several somber-colored warehouses, each with large bay doors for unfolding trucks, padlocked for the night, I just tried to move faster. The south side of the street had no sidewalk, only a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire protecting some kind of engine parts storage yard. I'd wandered far past the part of Port Angeles that I, as a guest, was intended to see. It was getting dark, I realized, the clouds finally returning and piling up on the western horizon, creating an early sunset. The eastern sky was still clear, but graying, shot through with streaks of pink and orange.

I'd left my jacket in the car, and a sudden shiver made me cross my arms tightly around my chest. A single van passed me, and then the road was empty. The sky suddenly darkened further, and, as I looked over my shoulder to glare at the offending crowd, I realized with a shock that two men were walking quietly twenty feet behind me.

They were from the same group I'd passed at the corner, though neither was the dark one who'd spoken to me. I turned my head forward at once, quickening my pace. A chill that had nothing to do with the weather made me shiver again. My purse was on a shoulder strap, and I had it slung across my body, the way you were supposed to wear it so that it wouldn't get snatched as easily. I knew exactly where my pepper spray was – compliments of Charlie. It was still in the duffle bag under the bed, never unpacked. I didn't bring much money with me, just a twenty and some ones, and I thought about 'accidentally' dropping my bag and walking away. But a small, frightened, voice in the back of my head warned me that they might be something worse than thieves.

Listening intently to their quiet footsteps, which were much too quiet when compared to the boisterous noise they'd been making earlier. It didn't sound like they were speeding up, or getting any closer to me. Breathe, I reminded myself. You don't know that they're following you. Continuing to walk as quickly as I could without actually running, focusing on the right-hand turn that was only a few yards away from me now, I could hear them. Staying as far back as they'd been before, I could hear them.

A blue car turned onto the street from the south and quickly drove past me. I thought of jumping out in front of it; but, hesitated – inhibited, unsure that I was really being pursued, and then it was too late. I reached the corner – a swift glance revealed that it was only a blind drive to the back of another building. I was half-turned in anticipation; I had to hurriedly correct and dash across the narrow drive, back to the sidewalk. The street ended at the next corner, where there was a stop sign. I concentrated on the faint footsteps behind me, deciding whether or not to run. They sounded further back, though, and I knew they could outrun me in any case. I was sure to trip and go sprawling if I tried to go any faster. The footfalls were definitely further back. I risked a quick glance over my shoulder, and they were maybe forty feet back now, I saw with relief. But they were both staring at me.

It seemed to take forever for me to get to the next corner. I kept my pace steady, the men behind me falling ever so slightly farther behind with every step. Maybe they realized they had scared me and were sorry. I saw two cars going north past the intersection I was heading for, and I exhaled with relief. There would be more people around once I got off this deserted street. I skipped around the corner with a grateful sigh…

...and skidded to a stop.

The street was lined on both sides by blank, door-less, windowless walls. I could see in the distance, two intersections down, streetlamps, cars, and more pedestrians; but, they were all too far away. Because lounging against the western building, midway down the street – were the other two men from the group. Both watching me with excited smiles as I froze dead on the sidewalk.

I realized then that I wasn't being followed...I was being herded.

Pausing for only a second, a second that felt like a walk to the gallows, I turned then and darted to the other side of the road. Almost tripping on the curb as a sinking feeling filled me – I was wasting my time. The footsteps behind me were louder now.

"There you are, sexy!" The booming voice of the stocky, dark-haired, man shattered the intense quiet. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Yeah," a voice called loudly from behind me, and I jumped again – rushing with agonizing breaths to hurry down the street. "We just took a little detour."

My steps ravaged me, I had to slow down now. Closing the distance between myself and the lounging pair too quickly. I maybe had one good loud scream in me, from all the panting draining me of air. I sucked in air, preparing to use it; but, my throat was so dry that I wasn't sure how much volume I could manage. Hyperventilation set in fast, and it was all I could do to slip the purse over my head and grab the strap in one hand – ready to surrender it or use it as a weapon.

The thickset man shrugged away from the wall as I warily came to a stop – and walked slowly into the street after me.

"Stay back!" I warned, in a voice that was supposed to strong strong and fearless – but I was right about the dry throat...they came out in a stuttering squeak.

"Don't be like that, sugar," he called, and the raucous laughter started again behind me.

I braced myself, feet apart, trying to remember through my panic of what little self-defense I knew. Heel of the hand thrust upward, hopefully breaking the nose or shoving it into the brain. Finger through the eye-socket – try and hook and pop the eye out. Standard knee to the groin.

That same pessimistic voice in my head spoke up then, reminding me that I probably wouldn't have a chance against one of them – let alone four of them. I wasn't going out without taking someone with me.

Desperate to control my breathing, I tried to shallow my breaths, building up to a decent scream-

Headlights suddenly flew around the corner, the car almost smacking into the stocky one, forcing him to jump back onto the sidewalk with a flurry of expletives. Without thinking I dove into the road, desperate that this car have a driver who would save me. The car unexpectedly fishtailed around, skidding to a stop with the passenger door flying open a few feet from me.

"Get in!" A furious voice commanded.

It was astonishing how instantaneously the choking fear vanished, amazing how suddenly a sensation of security washed through me – even before I was off the street – as soon as I heard that voice I jumped into the seat and slammed the door shut behind me.

It was dark in the car, no light had come on with the opening of the door, and I could barely see her face in the glow from the dashboard. The tires squealed as she spun the car around to face north, accelerating too quickly, swerving toward the stunned men on the street. I barely caught a glimpse of them all diving for their lives as we straightened out and sped for the harbor.

"Put your seat-belt on!" She commanded, and I realized I had been clutching the seat with both hands. Quickly obeying; the snap of the belt connecting together was so loud in the inky darkness of the silver Volvo that my chest lurched. She took a sharp left, racing forward, blowing through several stop signs without care or pausing.

I couldn't remember a time in my life when I felt utterly safe, and for a moment, I was completely unconcerned with the traffic violations or even where we were going. I studied her flawless features as traffic lights temporarily illuminated them, waiting for my breath to return to normal, until enough pieces of her face were seen that I realized her expression was...murderously angry.

"Edythe…?" I asked, without asking, surprised at how hoarse and pleading my voice sounded.

Her eyes narrowed, her lip trembling, as she tightened her hands against the steering wheel and kept speeding down the road without answering me. I'd never seen her so angry, so ferocious – terrifying. But still I tried to reach out to touch her arm.

"Don't." She hissed, and my hands shook worse than my panting breath.

I sat in commanded silence, watching her face while her blazing eyes stared straight ahead – until the car came to a sudden stop. Glancing outside, it was too dark to see anything beside the vague outline of dark trees crowding the roadside. We weren't in town anymore. Guilt consumed me, and fear of being yelled at made me watch down at my hands, which still trembled against my thighs.

"Bella?" She asked, her voice tight and controlled.

"Y-Yes?" My voice was still rough, and I tried to clear my throat as quietly as possible.

"Can you distract me, please," she ordered, her voice still tense and livid.

"What?"

She exhaled sharply, a hiss that seemed...inhuman.

"Prattle on about something unimportant until I calm down..." She clarified, closing her eyes as her hands loosed from the steering wheel. Permanent squeeze-marks were visible, and I could see her hunching over to try and hide her face behind her hands as she rubbed her temples with her thumbs.

She barely moved, without any heat emanating from her, and yet it felt like she was steaming. Dry ice, hissing in a pot of water, was all I could think of to describe her current state.

"Uh-Ughm," Nearly choking on a lump in my throat, I spoke. "I'm going to run Tyler Crowley over with my truck."

She was still squeezing her eyes closed, hunched over, looking at nothing and turned straight ahead to not focus on me. The corner of her mouth vaguely twitched.

"Why?"

I swallowed again. "He's telling everyone that he's taking me to prom. Either he's insane, or he's still trying to make up for almost killing me."

"I heard about that," she said, sounding a little -too- composed. Like being in the eye of the storm, more-so than because the danger had passed.

"You did?" I asked in disbelief, my previous irritation at the department store beginning to resurface. "Well, if he's paralyzed from the neck down, he can't go to prom, either," I muttered, refining my plan.

Edythe sighed, and finally moved her right hand away from her face.

"Better?" I asked, hope in my throat, as I looked at her.

"No."

I waited; but, she didn't speak again. She only leaned her head back against the seat, staring at the ceiling of her car – her face a rigid sculpture.

"What's wrong..." I finally squeaked, my voice coming out in a whisper.

She laughed, as though the answer was obvious. "If you truly wish to know, I sometimes have a problem controlling my temper," she was whispering, and staring out the window; eyes narrowing again into snake-like slits. "But it would hardly be helpful for me to use my passion to turn around and run those men over with my Volvo, now would it..." She paused for a moment with a harsh huff of hair puffing from her nose.

Looking away, she struggled for a moment to control her anger again. "Unlike those men, Tyler's sin is forgivable."

"I...I wasn't really going to ram him with my truck..."

She looked exasperated, nay, bored. Bored and irritated with me, and I felt like a discarded child. Here she was, worried about more important issues than who took me to a stupid dance, and my idea to distract her had only made it worse.

We sat in silence, because I was too ashamed and embarrassed to say anything. Glancing at the clock on the dashboard, it was past six-thirty.

"Can you even keep a promise, Bella?"

Her words hurt me, latched into my core and ripped.

She turned to me, ever so slightly, to glare at me. "Can you, for one month, -not- put yourself in life threatening chaos?"

I swallowed, the guilt building and building.

"Do I need to put a leash on you, Bella? Would that help you stop and think before you walk away from your friends to the bad part of town?! Into the hands of those – those rapists?"

"How did you-" The question died before it lived.

"-You don't know the sick, demented, disgusting, things those men were thinking! You could have ended up a bleeding, broken, -carcass- like Rose..." Edythe trailed off, her hand turning into a hard fist that squeezed far too tightly against the steering wheel. If I wasn't imagining things, her eyes were welling up, and she was seething so strongly she was shaking. Shaking worse than I was, because hers was so fluid and mesmerizing that I found myself...tentatively reaching out toward her right hand. The word 'Rose' eluded me, at the time, I could only focus on her anguish.

"Why did you come out here?!" Edythe demanded. "Can you please tell me -why- you nearly died -again-?!"

Edythe turned to me, angry fluid burning over her eyes as she looked at me; not as an angered demon...but a broken woman. She'd been scared of losing me – I had to reassure her, somehow.

"Y-you can't have known what they were thinking, but, you're right it was stupid of me. I was trying to find a bookstore...I got lost..."

"A bookstore?" She angrily scoffed; which broke into a watery laugh of exasperation. "Merciful heavens, a 'bookstore'..."

I already felt like an idiot, her laughing at me only strengthened my own resolve not to cry in front of her, like she was weeping now. Her tears pure and glistening, not red or bloody like the movies claimed.

"I'm sorry…please forgive me..." I pressed. "Please just forget those men. I'm safe, now, and they don't matter…"

"No," she said, softly and kindly this time. "No, they don't."

Watching her fingers drift to where my hand had frozen in the air near her thigh, her eerily cold hand softly held my own. She didn't feel dead, only cold, like touching a counter-top that was soft. A blanket that had never been slept against. Electricity rushed through my spine, all over my body, and I wasn't scared anymore. Even if I had died right now, for God knows why, she was here, we were together, and I didn't care that she was cold.

A vampire manipulating another wouldn't be worried like this. If she had just cast a spell on me, she wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. I still had my free will, those tears weren't lying to me. Her fingers interwoven with my own were an epitome of truth.

"Bella..."

I looked up at her, no, I was always looking at her – but I drowned in her eyes. I didn't blink, only stared, gazed for eternity into her golden gaze.

"Yes?" I breathed.

She smiled her crooked, tomboyish, smile as she wiped her eyes with her other hand, tugging her form-fitting T-shirt down to try and free it of wrinkles out of habit. "Your friends are really worried about you."

She let go of my hand, which caused my hand to curl into itself like a wilting flower disconnected from its stem. Colder without her touch against it. My fingers remained curled into themselves as I set my palm down on my thigh. Edythe was buckling her seat belt, now – probably for my benefit – and starting the engine without another word. Turning around smoothly and speeding back toward Port Angeles.

The question gnawed at me, and finally broke. "How did you know where I was?"

She didn't answer me, just focused on driving. I glanced out the window to see our car weaving with ease through the cars slowly cruising along the boardwalk. Still going too fast, she parallel parked against the curb in a space I would have thought to be -much- too small for her Volvo, in one effortless try. I looked out the window to see the lights of the La Bella Italia, and Jess and Angela pacing anxiously outside the door of the restaurant.

I heard a door open, and looked back to see that Edythe was getting out of the car. "Edythe, talk to me – how did you know where to go?"

She didn't answer me; only walked around her car toward me.

Reaching out to take my hand in hers without asking to, my brows knit in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to dinner," she said, so assuredly that she almost sounded territorial. But we were both girls! People were going to stare!

Did those people matter? A bunch of strangers in Port Angeles? No... But, Jessica and Angela were still by the door of the restaurant and as we stepped closer and closer she still didn't drop my hand.

"E-Edythe, what are you doing!" I harshly whispered, and with pain in her eyes she gently dropped my hand. In time before Angela and Jessica saw us.

"Where have -you- been?" Jessica's voice was something between curiosity, worry, and suspicion.

"I got lost looking for the bookstore," I admitted sheepishly, not wanting to tell her of the almost assault.

"I was driving home and found her," Edythe confessed, pain in her voice, even as she smiled warmly to Jess and Angela. "Would it be alright if I joined you for dinner?"

Angela looked down; guilt-riddled. "We-We already ate while we were waiting for you, Bella. Sorry."

"Oh, that's okay," I began; but, Edythe interrupted me.

"I think after all that walking you should eat something, Bella," Edythe's voice was soft, low, but dripping with authority before she looked at my friends. "Do you mind if I drive Bella home tonight? That way you won't have to wait while she eats."

"Sure, if you don't mind, Bella?" Jessica asked; biting her lip. Trying to figure out from my expression whether or not that was something I wanted. Smiling, awkwardly, I nodded; not sure what my face was saying, but I hoped it was nothing Jessica wouldn't ask me a hundred questions about tomorrow.

"Yeah, I mean, no, I don't mind. I'm kind of light-headed."

Angela seemed content with my nod, and smiled at me. "I had a great time, Bella, thank you," she said, and Jessica gave equal praise before they both started off toward Jessica's car.

"See you tomorrow!" They called out, and I waved again.

The moment they were gone, Edythe walked to the door of the restaurant and held it open with an almost obstinant expression. Obviously, there would be no further discussion, and I expelled a resigned sigh as I walked into the building. It was weird to be in a restaurant with my name in it, it just added another touch of strange to this already crazy day.

The restaurant wasn't very crowded – it was the off-season in Port Angeles. The host was male, and I understood the look in his eyes when he assessed how beautiful Edythe was. He welcomed her a little more warmly than necessary, which bothered me more than I cared to admit. The waiter was several inches taller than most guys, and he had unnaturally blond hair that seemed to compliment his complexion rather well.

"Good evening, a table for two, please." Edythe's voice was alluring, whether she was aiming for it to be that way or not. I saw his eyes flicker to me, and then away, with a contemplative expression or confusion splashed over his eyes that lingered for a breadth of a moment. He led us to a table big enough for four in the center of the dining room.

I was about to sit, when Edythe shook her head. "Oh, thank you, this table is wonderful; but, I was hoping for something a little more private, please." She insisted quietly to the host. I wasn't sure; but, it looked like she handed the host a tip, which of course made his eyes light up with suspicion.

"I see. Sure," he sounded as surprised as I was, as I'd never seen anyone refuse that nice of a table except in old movies. He turned and led us around a partition to a small ring of booths – all of them empty. "How's this?"

"This is wonderful, thank you." Edythe flashed him her gleaming smile, dazzling the host momentarily.

"Um," he shook his head, blinking. "Your server will be right out," he said, walking away unsteadily.

I waited until we were both seated, and the host was out of earshot, to say something. "You really shouldn't do that, you know...It's hardly fair."

"Do what?"

I swallowed. "Dazzle them like that – he's probably hyperventilating in the kitchen right now."

Edythe's expression contorted with confusion.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at her. "Come on, you – have – to know the effect you have on people..."

She tiled her head to one side, her eyes curious and amused. "I 'dazzle' people?"

"You really haven't noticed? Do you think -everyone- gets their way so easily?" I criticized.

She ignored my questions, with a glint over one eye of some kind of deep reflection.

"Do I dazzle you?" Edythe asked, and not being prepared for that question I felt my entire face flush tomato red.

"Hey, we're not talking about 'me' here..."

It was good our server arrived, his face expectant. The host had certainly dished behind the scenes, and this new guy didn't look disappointed. He flipped a strand of short black hair behind one ear and smiled with unnecessary warmth.

"Hello, my name is Ambrose, and I'll be your server tonight. Can I get you started with any beverages?" I didn't miss that he was only talking to Edythe. She looked at me with intrigue still washed over her face.

When she didn't say anything, I decided to speak first. "Cherry coke?"

Edythe held up two fingers and wiggled them. "Two cherry cokes."

"I will be right back with that," he assured her with another unnecessary smile; but, Edythe didn't seem to notice it – she was too busy watching me.

"What?"

Her eyes burned with interest as they stayed fixed on my face. "I'm wondering how you're feeling..."

"I'm fine," I replied, struck by her intensity.

"You don't feel dizzy? Sick?"

"No, I'm fine," I assured her.

She moved her hand across the table, grabbing my own. "Cold?"

The chill of her hand was like touching fire, and I almost shrieked as I tugged my hand away from the surprise. Edythe chuckled, even if her eyes seemed to sadden for a moment.

"You're too easy to tease, Bella."

I scowled. "I don't like being teased."

She sighed. "Well, If I don't tease you, you don't show anything."

I swallowed. "What do you mean?"

She exhaled, as though pre-meditatively trying to get me to say something. When I didn't say it, she sighed more prominently.

Right on cue, the waiter appeared with our drinks and a basket of bread sticks. He stood with his back to me as he placed them on the table – Edythe's drink having twice as many merachino cherries on top as mine did.

"Are you ladies ready to order?"

"Bella?" Edythe asked, and the waiter turned unwillingly toward me. I honestly picked the first thing on the menu that wasn't ridiculously expensive. Pointing to it and holding up the menu to the server.

"I'll have the mushroom ravioli."

"And you?" He turned back to Edythe with glee.

"Nothing for me," Edythe said, and I inwardly groaned.

"Oh...please let me know if you change your mind," He mentioned, the coy smile still in place; but, Edythe still wasn't looking at him, and he left dissatisfied.

"Drink, please," she ordered, but less commanding about it.

I sipped at my soda obediently, and then drank more deeply, surprised by how thirsty I was. I realized I had finished the whole thing when she gently pushed her glass toward me.

"Thanks," I muttered, still thirsty. The cold from the icy soda was radiating through my chest, and I shivered.

"Are you cold?"

"It's just the soda, I'll be fine," I explained.

Edythe was shrugging out of her jacket, which I hadn't even noticed that she put on until this moment. She must have put it on as she was getting out of her car? Usually I barely noticed what she was wearing, even now, my attention was always on her perfect eyes. She was sliding out of a light beige jacket now, and she moved her lithe, muscular, arms to try and drape her coat over me. It felt like a cape around my shoulders, and for a moment I was starstruck.

Which interrupted my ogling, and I looked down.

"Thanks," I said, sliding my arms into her coat. It was cold – the way my jacket felt when I first picked it up in the morning, hanging in a drafty hallway. I shivered again, because her coat smelled amazing. I inhaled, taking in her delicious scent, which was incomparable to any perfume or a cologne. The sleeves were a little too long for my arms, given Edythe was taller than me, so I shoved them back to free my hands.

"That color blue looks lovely with your skin-tone," she said, watching me again. I looked down, flushing. Which led to flushing more, because I had chosen the shirt on purpose for -her-…Because I was going to tell her something, which now that the moment had arrived – seemed to be a herculean task.

"Are you going into shock?" She teased, pushing the bread basket toward me.

"No, I'm fine, just..."

"A normal person would be buckled over in my car," she said thoughtfully. "You don't even look shaken, anymore," she seemed unsettled by that as she gazed into my eyes, and I saw how perfectly light they were – lighter than I'd ever seen them, a golden butterscotch. They complimented her bronze hair, like antique metal gleaming in the dim light of the restaurant.

"I...feel very…safe with you," I confessed, mesmerized into telling the truth again by those eyes.

This displeased her for some reason, and her alabaster brow furrowed. She shook her head, frowning, disappointed at me.

"This is more complicated than I can feasibly articulate," she hummed to herself, and I picked up a bread stick, only to set it back in the basket and reach out for her hand. Now that we were alone, I didn't want to be apart.

She watched my hands, but kept her own in her lap, for whatever reason. I suppose I deserved that, and I started to slide my hands back toward my lap. Instead, she grabbed the bread stick I had touched, and held it out to me.

Not thinking, I leaned forward and nibbled on a piece of it.

Edythe whole-heartedly giggled, but kept holding the bread stick. "You are utterly absurd."

The waiter arrived then with my food, and I realized we were still leaning toward each other over the table. With a bread stick in my mouth no less! In horror I leaned back as far away from Edythe as I could, but it was too late – Ambrose the waiter saw me, and he set down the dish in front of me in a daze of surprise and amusement.

"Ahem, my apologies for startling you, ladies," he said before he looked back at Edythe. "Are you -sure- I can't get you anything?" I may have been imagining a double meaning of his words.

"No, thank you, more soda would be nice," she gestured with a long white hand to the empty cups in front of me.

"Of course," He said, removing the empty glasses and walking away.

"So..." I started, as soon as we were alone again. "I need to know..."

Edythe widened her eyes, warily. "Please, just give me tonight..."

I scowled. "Not...the whole thing, just...why were you in Port Angeles? How did you find me so fast."

Edythe truly didn't want to answer my question, she kept subtly shaking her head and pleading with me not to keep asking with worry in her eyes. But I held firm – staring into her eyes with as demanding a look as I could give until the waiter returned with our drinks. He just set them in front of us now, and I filled the silence with sticking the new straw in my glass.

"I'll tell you if you eat something," She said, pointing at my plate – which was still wafting steam into the air.

"One bite, and you tell me."

Edythe nodded, and pushing through the knot in my stomach of being so close to Edythe, I took speared a ravioli and took a bite as daintily as I could. Chewing with my lips so tightly shut that I barely moved my jaw. After what felt like several minutes, I swallowed.

She sighed, something like despair covering her eyes as she looked down at her hands. "Alright..."

"Alright?" I parroted. "So you'll tell me?"

She nodded, grief overtaking her face. "I have…certain...gifts, I was blessed with."

I stabbed another ravioli with my fork; but, intentionally didn't take a bite because she trailed off. Edythe worriedly frowned, but continued.

"Let us say, for example, that a person could possess telepathy? To know what others are thinking before they say them, read someone's mind, with a few exceptions."

I brought the ravioli closer to my mouth. "Exceptions?"

"One exception, actually," She replied, before gesturing to me with her fingers. "You."

I furrowed my eyebrows in thought, taking it in as I chewed on the dangled ravioli, slowly and daintily and desperately wiping my face with the napkin to make sure it was more spotless than it needed to be.

Finally, when I was sure I'd swallowed everything, I spoke. "How does that work, hypothetically. How would that someone...find someone else at exactly the right time? To know that she was in trouble?" I hoped my convoluted question made sense.

She smiled wryly. "That someone...followed the other someone to Port Angeles," she admitted, in a quiet rush. "That someone has...never gone out of her way to try and keep someone safe before...and this 'other someone'" she pinned her eyes at me. "seems to attract bad luck and danger more than any other person in the world. I swear, ordinary people seem to make it through years without so many catastrophes."

Knowing already that she was eluding to me, and my magnet for danger, I sighed. Looking down at my fork and stabbing into another ravioli; leaving the fork in my food. "Don't you ever think that…maybe my number was up the first time, with the van, and every effort to keep me alive since then is just messing with fate?"

"That wasn't the first time..." Edythe said, and her haunting voice was hard to hear. I gazed at her in amazement, but, she was looking down; away from me. "Your number was up...when I met you."

A spasm of fear shook through me at her words, the abrupt memory of her violent black glare the first day we met rushed through me. But, the overwhelming safety I felt in her presence stifled it enough for my heart-rate to slow back down. By the time she looked back up to read my eyes, the fear had passed.

"In many ways," I said, not having further desire to eat.

She furrowed her brows, and a completely different kind of fear squeezed my stomach. "So, you followed me here...why didn't you talk to me?"

She pressed her lips together, staring at me through cautious eyes, deciding again. Her eyes flickered to my almost full plate, and she tried to push it a little closer to me. "I'll explain while you eat."

Sighing, I relented and dove in. Chewing ridiculously slow to not miss a single word.

Her eyes never left my own. "I...am usually an excellent tracker. I can find someone very easily, once I have heard their mind before," she looked at me with anxiety, and I realized I had frozen. I made myself swallow, then stabbed another ravioli and tossed it into my mouth as gracefully as I could.

"For reasons beyond my scope, I cannot hear your mind, so I was paying attention to Jessica's whereabouts. At first, I didn't notice you had taken off on your own. Then, when I realized that you weren't with her anymore, I went looking for you at the bookstore I saw in her head. I could tell you hadn't gone in, and that you'd gone south...and I knew you would have to turn around so I was just waiting for you. I hoped to see you walking back, but I didn't. So, I started searching through the thoughts of random people on the street – to see if anyone had noticed you so I would know where you were. I had no reason, then, to be worried...but I was anxious."

She wet her lips, pondering before she continued. "I began to drive in circles, still...listening. The sun was finally setting, and I was about to get out and follow you on foot, when…." she stopped, clenching her teeth together in sudden fury. She mad an effort to calm herself; but, for some reason I was reminded of a lioness about to launch.

"When, what?" I whispered, her eyes seeing past me – into the void that only her mind could understand.

"I heard...what – they – were thinking..." She growled, her upper lip curling slightly back over her teeth in a predatory way. "I saw your face in his mind," she suddenly leaned forward, and I noticed that her slender, muscular, arms were stretched taut. No doubt in my mind that her hands, under the table, were squeezing tightly into fists.

"I-...If I did not stay here, with you and your friends...I would have gone back..." her lips tightened, and she pulled her eyes down to watch the table. Icy fury burning from her skin. "I still yearn...to kill them...for what they planned to do to you…"

Desperate to distract her, so she wouldn't be tempted to do that, I spoke, trying to reach for her hand. "Edythe, they aren't worth it, they don't matter. Please don't put yourself in danger for me."

She laughed, darkly smirking at me. "Your concern is most endearing. You know they wouldn't be able to handle me."

I bit down on my lip. "I know, but...I'm glad you're here. I'd rather you be here, with me."

Her eyes waned; pained and bitter-sweetly hopeful.

Of all the things I'd been considering, her being a vampire a – very – strong probability, the idea of her being able to read minds didn't seem so outrageous on the list. I wanted to tell her I knew, about her, but I was afraid if I did she would leave.

"I've missed you," Edythe confessed.

"I missed you more."

Edythe smirked at me, her foot gently brushing against my own. A casual converse-style shoe stayed pressed against my shoe when I peeked under the table. It made me smile, and my chest sputtered like an automatic sprinkler with excitement.

"I doubt that is possible, Bella, how about we call it even?"

"That depends..." I finally whispered. "If you can't read my mind, as you say, then you can't…mesmerize me?"

Anger flooded over her face, her lower lip trembled raggedly. "I beg your pardon?"

Fear claimed me, but not fear of her, and I tapped my foot against her own under the table to try and reassure her. "Down at La Push, someone told me...a legend..."

Her eyes shifted from fear to horror, and her foot slid away from me.

Desperate to reassure her, I reached out, pushing my bowl away from me. "I know...that those with mind powers, can sometimes...put a spell on someone."

Vehemence seethed from her face. "Are you suggesting I cast a -spell- on you? That I would have asked for – this – for either of us?!"

Fluid burned in my eyes, they were so watery I couldn't see her face. "N-No, I don't think it is in you to force any person to...feel for you, but I need to hear it." My voice sounded like a dying toad, drowning in the water.

I felt her hand, cold as the table, touch my own; electricity rushed a zing through my nerves – stretching everywhere. Desperate to see her, I dabbed a napkin against my eyes and blinked away the residual fluid. Her eyes were pained, wounded, but they stayed on me as her hand stayed; holding my own.

"I cannot mesmerize you, or read your mind, in any fashion."

I swallowed, absorbing her words with relief. "Thank you, for reassuring me..."

Her eyes were still pained, ravenous for knowledge, and her fingers interwove with my own before she spoke. "Do you...truly 'feel' for me?"

Her words sent terror through my heart; but, I had already decided, so the fear was not enough to cripple me now. I nodded.

A wry smile curled at her mouth. "I need to hear you say it..." She parroted me, and I flushed.

"I can't explain how I feel...what I feel...but I do. More than anyone, or any 'guy'. Does that...disgust you?"

She scoffed a laugh, gently pushing the bowl of what remained of the ravioli toward me. "I should disgust you, hardly the other way around."

"You don't….Maybe you should, and maybe you should scare me, too. But you don't."

Edythe slid her hand away, and I watched her fingers curl up like a wilted flower, the same quiet anguish that my hand had contorted itself into. Cut off from the stem. My palm throbbed, as though it was a severed limb; still feeling the ghostly sensation of her cold touch. I didn't understand why she had let go of my hand until the server reappeared.

"How are we doing?" He asked Edythe, but I didn't mind that the server wasn't paying attention to my throbbing face.

Edythe looked at me, and I uncomfortably swallowed. "We're fine, thanks." My voice wavered.

"We are ready for our check, thank you," Edythe mentioned, her eyes swollen with emotion. Her voice was quiet, rough, still reflecting the strain of our conversation. Her vulnerability seemed to woo the waiter, and he clearly was unable to double-check that fact once he heard such an exquisite vocal texture.

"Uh-Of course," He said, tugging a small leather folder from the front pocket of his black apron, handing it to her and taking the time to un-clip a pen from his shirt and hold it out for her to sign, should she be using a debit card.

There was a bill in her hand already. She slipped it into the folder and handed it right back to him. "Keep the change, you were a most gracious host."

He smiled invitingly at her again, clearly mesmerized. "You have a lovely rest of your evening, miss."

Ambrose stayed while Edythe stood from the booth, and with a heavy heart I stood to follow her. He wanted to follow us out, I presumed, as who wouldn't want to soak in her beautiful face as long as humanly possible?

Hoping, against logic, that Edythe would pause to take my hand, she kept had her hands in her front jean pockets and walked fast in front of me. Moving with the same swift grace that she used to whoosh out of Biology. Only now, she was whooshing away from me, and I struggled not to trip as I followed her. I probably should have been used to it by now, how graceful she was, but I wasn't. How could anyone get used to such fluid, long, strides. Amazement tempered my pain, even if it wasn't enough to prevent me from feeling the sting of rejection I probably deserved.

She was silent, walking all the way to the car with her back still to me. I kept my hands in the pocket of her beige sweater, trying to soak in the sensation of my fingertips against the fabric. The way her hands were often in her pockets; desperate to flame the sensation of our hands being connected in whatever faint connection I could. Before I stepped into the silver Volvo again, the jacket she gave me was zipped up.

Once inside the car, Edythe started the engine and turned the heater on 'high'. It had gotten -very- cold while we were inside the restaurant, and I guessed that the good weather had come to an end for a while. It was cozy in her jacket. Although, breathing in her scent was perhaps the most comforting thing about the light beige hoodie.

Without speaking, Edythe pulled out of the parking lot into traffic – apparently without a glance to her blind spot. The Volvo soon U-turned to head back toward the freeway.

"Now..." she said, significantly, "It's your turn."


	10. Chapter Nine - Irrevocable

_You'll have to forgive me, I embellished this chapter quite a bit. I hope you enjoy the reference to the gas and brake pedal towards the end of the chapter. Some of the content that was originally here I had already revealed in earlier chapters, so, I hope I kept to the spirit of the novel. Not sure why I felt it so important that Bella keep Edythe's jacket; but, it clearly was, and Edythe didn't deny her._

 _I certainly need to catch some Zzzs, though, so I'll have to work on the next chapter after real life releases me._

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

* * *

"Your turn?"

The words left my mouth with a numb sensation to my lips. Curiosity and caution filled me as Edythe turned her head, ever-so-slightly, to watch me as we turned into the freeway.

"Mhm," she hummed. "I have answered plenty of questions for you, tis time for you to answer some of mine." Amusement seemed to outshine the pain in her eyes; but, only by a tiny margin.

"I don't know, there's a lot of things I would still like to know," I pressed.

Her golden eyes glistened in the faint overhead lights on the freeway, intrigue abloom as she studied me. "Indeed, and you deserve to know them."

Swallowing, I furrowed my eyebrows, hoping to stare her down into confessing things. "So, to point our toe in the right direction, I need to know how much you have guessed."

"What do you mean?"

"About myself, my family. What did your friend at La Push tell you?"

If it was possible for my blood to run cold from apprehension, the chill would have destroyed me. My face felt frozen, and my hands raised to tug the hood of Edythe's light beige coat over my head as if it could warm me. Even with the heat on full blast in her Volvo, the chill of worry clung to me.

"Hm?" She pressed, knitting her brows again. "I thought we were past all this evasiveness, Bella."

"It's not...an unwillingness to share with you…" The lump in my throat almost gagged me. "But, you did say you had a nasty temper."

Worry no longer only cloaked my face. Desperate to not be stolen in by those beautiful eyes, as it could mean that Jacob was in danger, I glanced next to her – at her hands. Which happened to be next to the Speedometer.

My eyes widened; instantly. She was going over a hundred miles per hour!

"W-woah Edythe! Can you slow down?!"

"What is it?" She asked, startled at my outburst; but, the car didn't decelerate.

"We're driving a hundred and twelve!" I shouted; shooting a panicky glance out of the window – but it was too dark outside to see very much. The road was only visible in the long patch of bluish brightness from the Volvo's headlights now. The forest along both sides of the highway was like a black wall – as hard as a wall of steel – if we veered off of the road at this speed!

She sighed, shaking her head bemusedly at me. "Relax, Bella, we are perfectly safe – I assure you."

"'Perfectly safe'?" I about wailed. "How is this 'perfectly safe'?"

A scoff, or snort, burned from her nose. "We are -not- going to crash. Deep breaths, please."

Biting my tongue, for a moment, I tried to modulate my voice as I gazed from the road to her face. "Then, why are you in such a hurry?"

Her brows knit together; befuddled. "I always drive like this," she assured me, and when she looked back at me – her mouth was crookedly smiling.

"P-p-please keep your eyes on the r-road!"

She rolled her eyes, now, and sighed. "I can see the road perfectly well, Bella."

"E-even so, p-please slow down."

Maybe it was the crackling in my voice, that sputtered from me like a tea-kettle, that convinced her to slow down to an even sixty.

"Alas, I loathe going slow..." she sighed, and I could only pant until I could breathe without heaving again.

"Th-this is slow?"

Her mouth curled wryly. "Enough commentary about my driving, tell me."

Biting down on my lip, she looked down at me, her honey eyes unexpectedly gentle.

"I promise not to laugh," she assured me.

My mouth felt dry, raspy. "I'm more afraid that you'll be...angry, with me."

She nodded cautiously, turning her head back to watch the road. Even if it -was- only for my benefit. "Go on, my eyes are on the road."

How does one even begin to say this out loud, I wondered to myself. My quiet must have lasted for a while, because she glanced back toward me and softly cleared her throat.

"Sorry, I just...don't know where to begin."

"Well, you mentioned hearing a legend at La Push, how about we start there?"

Swallowing again, to no use, the lump in my throat was here to stay for a while. "Sure, okay."

Inhaling a deep breath, not wishing to put Jacob in danger, I exhaled through my nose and began. "Saturday, a bunch of us went to La Push, and when we came back from exploring the tide pools, some of the teens from the reservation had joined us."

She nodded, and I went on. "One of them was the son of a friend of my dad's, who'se a Quileute elder. He wanted to say hi, because we used to hang out when I was little, and we walked along the beach."

Edythe seemed uncomfortable, her hands clutching her steering wheel a little tighter, not that her hands could fix what damage had already been done to it. "What was his name?"

My stomach lurched into my chest from fear. "Jacob. Jacob Black."

Too curious not to watch her reaction to that name, as Jacob said his grandfather or great-grandfather had been the ones to make the treaty with the Cullens, I thought I might see recognition in her eye. Unfortunately, her eyes were on the road, so if she did recognize the name, I didn't get a chance to notice.

"Hmm." She muttered thoughtfully, and I took that as my cue to continue.

"Earlier, one of the older boys had said 'The Cullens don't come here' in a really weird way, and when I asked Jacob about it, he told me the legend."

The car was slowing down to fifty miles per hour, Edythe was nodding thoughtfully, but otherwise kept watching the road. Concealing much of her face, though I could tell she was pensive. Perhaps even pensive to the point of concern.

"He thought it was silly superstition," I said quickly. "I don't think he expected me to think anything of it."

She turned to look at me, irritation in her eye. "I'm not going to murder your friends..."

Her words caught me, like a lashing whip, and I stuttered. "S-sorry."

"Go on," she encouraged, her voice still sharp; but, softer than before.

"He told me that his ancestor made a treaty with a clan of vampires, who weren't like other 'Cold Ones', who drank from animals instead of people. That because of the treaty, the Cullens couldn't come onto the Reservation. He said Carlisle was the leader, and you were just coming back to Forks."

Her fingers anxiously squeezed the steering wheel, spinning around the leather edges as she listened to me. Her body was unnaturally still, not even breathing, as she took in all I had to say.

"Interesting tale," she trailed off for a moment. "Does it mean anything to you?"

Unable to watch the road, even though I -was- very concerned that she might be speeding again, my eyes never left what I could see of her face. The darkness of this part of the highway shrouded us, and the headlights did little to illuminate her. If she wanted to silence me for knowing the truth, now would have been the perfect time.

"No, not really."

"Ah," she hummed thoughtfully. "And why not?"

Taking a moment to muster my courage, for a breathless second the concept of how to breathe eluded me. There was no going back now. Maybe...there had never really been a choice for me. Even as apprehension sweat through me, sticking my hair to my face and chilling me inside her beige hoodie, my chest felt strangely calm. My heart knew, and it beat with certainty.

"Because it doesn't matter...what you are – what you could be."

Instantly, she snapped her eyes away from the road; anger and agony riveting her glare toward me. "You don't care if I'm a monster?"

"No," my head eagerly shook.

"If I'm not human?!"

"No."

"That I'm a woman?!"

"N-no."

She was deathly silent, staring straight out toward the highway again. Her face was cold and bleak; as though I had drained what little life was in her features out of her skin.

"Are you angry with me?"

"No..." She whispered; but, her tone was as hoarse and lifeless as her face. "I always want to know what you're thinking – even if what you're thinking borders on insanity."

"So...Jacob lied?" I asked.

"I wasn't referring to that, I meant, when you said it 'doesn't matter'," she mentioned, gritting her teeth as though trying too hard to not reveal whatever it was that vexed her.

"Then, you're a vampire?"

Her voice wavered, broken and shaking as she spoke. "Does it matter?"

I inhaled through my nose, shaking my head. "No...but I am curious." My voice, at least, was composed.

Defeated, resigned, she spoke again. "What would you like to know?"

"Um..." I had so many questions, just narrowing down to one seemed impossible. "How old are you?"

"I am Seventeen," she answered weakly.

"...How long have you -been- seventeen?"

Her lips twitched as she kept staring at the road. "A while..." she admitted, at last.

"Alright," that answer would have to do. My mouth curled into a smile, of its own accord. Happiness filled me at hearing her speak plainly to me. She gazed down at me with watchful eyes, much as she had before; full of worry and concern. I smiled wider in encouragement, and her lips tugged into a scowl-like frown at me.

"S-so...I have another question."

"Go ahead."

"Please don't...laugh at me; but, how come you can come outside during the day?"

She laughed anyway – a sharper, louder, laugh than I had expected her to make. I leapt beneath my seat-belt. "Oh – that is complete nonsense! I don't know who fabricated that myth, but it never ceases to amuse..."

"So...you won't burn in the sunlight?"

She didn't bother to answer that one, only snorted a melodic burn in her throat with derision.

"Do you sleep in coffins?"

She gently shook her head. "No, I...we don't sleep."

It took me a minute to fully absorb what she said. "At all?"

"Never," she said, her voice nearly inaudible. She turned to look toward me with a wistful expression. The golden eyes held my own, and for a second I lost my train of thought. I gazed at her until she looked away from me.

"You have yet to ask me the most elementary question..." Her voice was hard now, and when she looked at me again, her eyes were cold.

Blinking, too much, from surprise, I held her gaze. "Which one is that?"

"You are not at all concerned...about my diet?" She asked, and I wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic, or ominous.

"Oh," I murmured. "That..."

Edythe hummed, keeping her eyes on the road, before watching me out of the corner of her eye expectantly.

I paused, to consider my answer before I continued. "No."

"Why not?"

"Why would I fear your 'diet' if you drink from animals?"

"That hardly makes us safe, Bella," she chided me.

"But he wasn't lying to me, was he? Your family -does- eat animals?" I tried to keep my voice as even and steady as possible.

"The Quileutes have a long memory," she whispered, and I took that as a confirmation.

"You mustn't allow that to make you complacent, though," she warned me. "They are right to keep their distance from us. Regardless of how we conduct ourselves, we are still dangerous."

"Why?" I asked, not understanding.

"We...make every endeavor," she explained slowly. "We are usually very good at what we do; but, on occasion even we can make mistakes."

"You haven't, though, not with me," I reassured.

Her eyes narrowed, and she turned at me – seething. "Especially with you."

"A-are you saying...we're a mistake?" The sadness in my voice rang into my ears, I didn't need to ask if she had heard my despair – her expression contorted with remorse.

"Tis far too easy for me to hurt you, Bella. One false step, and your hand could be crushed."

My heart flushed to life in my chest, beating heavy, as her words settled through me. We were quiet for a short time, and I watched the headlights twist with the curves of the road. They all moved too fast; it didn't look real – like a video game. I was aware of the time slipping away so quickly, like the black road beneath us, but the only fear I had...was that I might never be alone with her like this again – openly, with the walls between us gone. Pure clarity of truth, no one and nothing else to judge us. Her words hinted at an end, and I recoiled from the idea. If this was the end, then I couldn't allow myself to waste one more minute I had with her.

"That isn't wholly true," I fought. She snapped her head back toward me, glaring at me – with what I could only assume to be loathing at how foolish I was. "You have had several chances to kill me, Edythe. When we met, when the van almost crushed me. Your natural impulse was to leave me alone, and save me – you're not a monster, Edythe. You're a good person, capable of terrible things."

Her mouth tightened up in disbelief, even aggression, at my words; but, I tried to speak before she could. "Tell me why you hunt animals instead of humans, I'll prove it to you."

She barely glanced at me, her eyes still on the road. "You needn't prove anything to me, Bella, I do have good intentions. The last thing I wish in the world is to hurt you, but mistakes happen. I have...made mistakes. I have...killed before."

Unable to bear it any longer, I reached out to try and touch her arm. She didn't stop me, and her cold skin radiated tiny shivers all through my hand – stretching out through my entire body with subtle vibration. "Feeding on animals does not completely satiate our thirst...but it does make it a great deal...easier...to resist."

My fingers brushed along her forearm. "Is it...very difficult for you now?"

She nodded, barely moving, as though terrified of breaking me; a china doll in the passenger seat. "Yes..."

Her tone was so morose, her pain effected me. "But, you're not hungry now..."

"What makes you think so?"

"Your eyes...usually, you're especially moody when your eyes are black. People tend to be crabbier when they're hungry, anyway, and you've been...able to handle yourself very well tonight, considering."

"Yes..." she confessed, pausing for a second as her eyes shifted from watching my fingers brushing over her forearm, to watching my eyes. "It...was agony, to be away from you...but it is the price to pay for your safety. It is...easier, to be around you, when I'm not quite so thirsty."

"It's agony for you?" Hope swarmed me, joy flourished in my chest at her words.

The edge of her mouth curled into its usual mischievous half-grin. "I am...very anxious...to be away from you." Her eyes were gentle; but, intense. My bones turned soft to gaze into them, soft and shivering when she kept flashing her too-perfect smirk at me. "I wasn't in jest when I asked you not to fall into the ocean last Thursday. Emmett chided me for how distracted I was all weekend, worrying about you. After what happened tonight...I'm surprised that you made it through the whole weekend unscathed," she shook her head, and seemed to remember something. "Well...not entirely unscathed."

"What do you mean?"

She chuckled. "Your hands..." she reminded me. I turned my free hand to examine my palm, taking in the almost-healed scrapes across the heels of my hands. Her perfect eyes had found me out.

Rolling my eyes playfully, I went back to brushing my fingertips along her arm again. Noticing the soft, finite, hairs standing up straight when I caressed her cold flesh.

"I fell," I mentioned casually, sighing to myself at how often in my life I had said those words.

"I thought so," she replied playfully; the corners of her lips curved up in a mischievous twitch again. "I suppose, you being you, it could have been much worse than a few scrapes. Thank you, " she smiled ruefully at me.

"Don't mention it," I teased.

Her rueful smile bloomed into a grin. "It was a very long three days, in fact, I don't think Emmett wants me to join on any 'camping trips' for a while."

The gears in my head started turning, and I furrowed my brows. "Three days? Didn't you get back today?"

"No," she confessed, apologetically. "We made it back on Sunday."

Anger seethed through me, and I stopped caressing her arm. Only to try and squeeze it between my fingers – which hurt! Like trying to squeeze a dumbbell at the gym. Unfortunately, the throbbing pain only added to my irritation. "Then why weren't you at school?" I snapped; frustrated at how stupidly I had pined for her almost an entire week.

She gazed at me with concern, mouth curling into a genuine frown. "The sun doesn't hurt us Bella, but it does...make it difficult for us to go outside."

"Why?" I demanded.

She cringed lightly, and wet her lips anxiously before she spoke. "I shall have to show you sometime...explaining...would not do it justice."

I considered her words for a moment, wondering if she turned into an ugly bald monster – like the old black and white movie: Nosferatu. Furrowing my eyebrows, I realized I didn't really care if she did, and worrying about it was only going to aggravate me.

"Well...you might have called me," I decided, once my brain shifted to another topic.

She was puzzled. "Why? I knew you were safe."

Hesitating, sadness creeping up from my stomach, I slid my hand away from her arm. "But...I didn't know where you were. I..." Hesitating, my eyes sank down to my lap; fingers retreating to hide my hands between my knees from shame at being so very needy.

"What?" Her velvet voice compelled me, so yearning to know.

"I know you can probably withstand anything; but, it doesn't mean I don't worry about you, too..." My face flushed, pale and red, to say it out loud.

She was quiet, for too long, and it began to make me feel anxious. Glancing up, apprehensively, I saw her expression was pained.

"I am...truly sorry, for involving your heart so deeply," she began, and I couldn't breathe until she finished her meaning. "Tis one thing to make myself this miserable, quite another to render yours..." Her voice was low, heavy with regret and urgency. Her words made me worry she was going to leave me again, and they cut me more deeply than I cared to admit to myself.

"Even if I was a man, Bella...I'm dangerous – please, grasp that."

"I can't," I shuddered breathlessly.

"Please...if we stay together, your life is-"

I interrupted her; unable to silence myself any longer. "-It's too late for that. Do you truly think you can leave me now, a-and it won't...e-effect me?"

She couldn't say anything, only turn her head and shake it subtly over and over. I couldn't tell if she was angry or heartbroken; she just kept trembling.

The Volvo was slowing, considerably. We were passing into the boundaries of Forks. The entire ride couldn't have taken more than twenty or so minutes, and I wished she had gone a snails pace to stay with me like this a little longer.

"E-Edythe..." Fear pressured me to utter her name, my voice weak.

She turned to look at me, pain glossed over her honeyed gaze.

"W-will you...be at school tomorrow?" My voice begged altogether too much than I could bear without my fingers trembling.

"Yes, I have a paper due," she said with a quiet smile. "Save us a seat at lunch?"

It felt so silly, after everything we had been through tonight, that such a little promise sent flutters through my chest; rendering me unable to speak. We were in front of Charlie's house, now. The lights were on, my truck still asleep in his place. Everything was utterly normal, waiting for me, like the end of a dream. A dream I couldn't bear to end.

She stopped the car – but I couldn't move.

"Do you p-promise to be there tomorrow?"

Her fingers slid away from the crushed remnants of her steering wheel. One hand carefully stretching toward me, to brush her fingers along the edge of my cheek. Thumb caressing over my jawline with tentative trembling to the caress.

"I promise," she breathed in a quiet whisper, and my fears began to ebb – like heat, when nurse Brenda gave me that ice-filled cold compress.

"I-...I'm keeping your jacket...if that's okay," the words squeaked out of me.

Her mouth curled into a sheepish grin, and she smirked darkly at me. "Consider it yours."

My face lit up with a smile so wide it hurt; my jaw aching in dull throbs as her mouth widened into an equally gleeful smile.

Whether I was comforted by the treasured keepsake I could take home with me, or the promise that Edythe wasn't skipping town tomorrow, her perfectly glowing radiance brought confidence to me. With the lights off, and no one able to see through tinted windows in the dark, I didn't think – I just acted.

Moving forward, messily at that, I pressed my lips to hers in the briefest, most sensational, kiss I had ever had.

And just like that, Edythe was gone.

One moment, I was reaching for her face, and the next I was staring at the car window. Gazing around anxiously for her, I saw Edythe crawling as much as she possibly could underneath the steering wheel. Her head dangerously close to the gas and break pedals; eyes wide, like a panicked mountain lion.

Shock floored me; I could only blink at seeing her way down there. It was so fast, I didn't see her move. One blink had been enough for her to get far away from me, even if later the image of her desperately trying to flee under the steering wheel would be hilarious to us later.

"D-don't..." she chittered, she hissed from shock and confusion as she held her hand out to me – palm up, as though I was the dangerous one. She crawled back up, until she was upright in her chair, and continued to hold her palm out to me, to enforce some distance between us.

My stomach knotted as the realization began to sink in. Maybe I -was- imagining – all of this – and she didn't want me the same way, after all. For the first time since she had sped off down the road from those...rapists...she looked petrified. "I-I'm sorry." the words barely whispered from me.

"P-please just…-warn me-...next time."

The car door opened, and I was too melted into a happy blubbering goo at the words 'next time' to realize she was getting out of the car. Only when her door gently closed, did I snap out of being entirely red-faced to cover my head with the hood of her beige hoodie.

She walked over to the passenger side, opening my door and holding her hand out toward me. Unable to resist a reason to touch her hand, I grasped it, and she had to pull me out of the car – because I felt too heavy to move. Standing, or wobbling vertically, the hoodie still covered half my face to try and mask the flushed cheeks beneath them.

"You are...utterly absurd..." she praised, and I sheepishly grinned until I felt her mouth cascade over my own again.

With shock, I froze, but she had only offered me the most discreet of pecks. Not sure if I had imagined it, I blinked to try and instill myself with some sense of clarity.

Her hand tugged the hoodie up, so it wasn't covering my eyes anymore. She was grinning, smirking at me boldly, as though thoroughly pleased with herself. "You should...head inside, before your Father gets much more nervous."

I gulped, mesmerized by her eyes, and her slender, luscious, mouth. Her scent, her taste, was all I could think about. "Yeah..."

She grinned, quietly snickering at how unglued I was. "It seems I -do- dazzle you." She praised herself triumphantly, grinning sheepishly again.

That grin, when it was whole, was too drawing to resist, and I felt myself leaning forward toward her mouth – but her hand stopped me. Two fingers pressing to my lips to stop me from leaning forward anymore.

"Let's not tempt fate too deftly..." She teased, before she lowered her fingers and I bashfully swallowed. "Before you go, though...I have a request to make.."

"Yes?"

"N-next time, you want to go for a walk, will you promise me that you won't go into those woods alone?"

I blinked at her, then blinked at the black silhouette of trees where the path began. "I can. Why, though?"

She looked toward the path, frowning at the trees. Her eyes tight as she gazed passed me, watching something I couldn't see, perhaps.

"I'm not the most dangerous thing out there...let's leave it at that."

The bleakness in her voice sent a shiver through me, and I shuddered – wrapping my beige covered arms across my chest. "Sure, whatever you say."

"You have eased me...I'll see you tomorrow," she said with a pleasant sigh, and I knew it was probably best I start toward the house now.

"T-Tomorrow, then?" I repeated, needing to hear her guarantee at least one more time.

"Yes, of course," she edified, and I was encouraged at her words enough to start moving my heavy stone feet away from her.

"Um, Bella..." My heart nearly stopped as I turned.

She was inching toward me – her pale, glorious, face just inches from my own again. Breath escaped me, my heart both stopped and pounded raggedly.

"Sleep well," she almost sang to me. Her breath blew in my face, stunning me completely. Completely overwhelmed by a direct, crisp, exhale from those perfect lips; I blinked, dazed. She leaned away, to get back in her Volvo, and I found myself unable to move all over again. My brain needed time to unscramble itself, and by then, her car had turned on and quietly sped down the street in the opposite direction that we'd come. Perhaps I'd imagined it, but before she closed her door, I thought I heard her softly chuckle with satisfaction in herself.

Almost stumbling through the front door when I finally managed to spur some life into my limbs, Charlie called from the living room as soon as I unlocked the door. "Bella? You home?"

"Y-yeah, Dad, it's me," I reassured, walking in to see him relaxing on the couch. His eyes were straight ahead, watching a baseball game with teams and colors I didn't know about.

"You're home early."

"Am I?" I asked; surprised. Those had felt like the longest hours of my life.

"It's not even eight yet," he told me. "Did you girls have fun?"

My entire face flushed at his words, and with a stupidly dorky grin I turned around to not face him – in case Charlie turned around. "Yeah – It was...lots of fun. I got this hoodie." My head was spinning as I tried to remember what had even happened before Edythe rescued me for the second time. "Angela and Jess both found dresses."

Charlie was quiet, and my heart pounded with fear as I waited for his response. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, totally, totally okay – I'm just tired. I did a lot of walking," Good God could I have fumbled that any worse!?

"Well, maybe you should go lie down, Bells." He sounded genuinely concerned, and I was worried he might stop me if I turned and he got a good look at my face.

"Sounds great, Dad...water first."

Walking awkwardly into the kitchen, I fell, exhausted, into a chair. Dizziness was really swimming through my head now, and I wondered if I was going to go into shock from the dark, dirty, secret outing I had just spent with Edythe. Breathe, get a grip, I told myself.

The phone rang suddenly, startling me so badly that I knocked the salt and pepper shakers off of the kitchen table. Picking them up and returning them to their spots, I yanked the phone off the hook.

"H-Hello?" I asked; breathlessly.

"Bella?"

"H-Hey, Jess, I was just going to call you."

"You made it home?" She asked. Her voice was relieved, but wavering with a thousand unasked questions.

"Yeah, just got home. I uh, left my jacket in your car – could you bring it tomorrow?"

Silence on the other end, at least for a moment. "Sure, but will you tell me what happened?"

"Yeah, but tomorrow – In Trig, okay?" My brain physically hurt from straining for a good reason why. "I'm beat, I should really go lie down."

She caught on quickly, in her own way. "Oh – is your dad there?" Her voice was uncomfortably awkward.

"Yep." I answered simply.

"Oh-Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow, then. Bye!" I could hear the desperate need to know more about what happened reverberate through her voice.

"Bye, Jess."

Rushing upstairs as fast as I could go without stumbling up the stairs, a heavy stupor clouded my mind. I went through the motions of getting ready for bed without really paying attention to what I was doing. I was weightless, I felt both weak and invigorated. It wasn't until I was in the shower, and the water was too hot – burning my skin – that I realized I was freezing. Shuddering violently under the steady stream of water, waiting for the heat to relax my muscles, my thoughts drifted back to Edythe.

Drifted back to the way her lips had hovered inches from mine, as though she was going to kiss me – face to face – with our eyes open. A kiss that wasn't a surprise, but planned, and passionate. Heat filled me, but it had little to do with the shower head funneling water down on me. I laid down in the tub, letting the hot water run over me, until the hot water began to run out.

When I finally managed to stumble out of the shower, I scattered the towel across my hair – soaking as much water from my hair before I wrapped the towel around myself. Combing through my dark brown hair as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. If not for needing one hand to keep the towel closed around myself, to stop myself from being so cold again, I thought about my lips. They weren't the same anymore, they looked like they'd aged – without really aging. My lips had kissed, and kissed someone meaningful who electrified me.

What have you done, Bella? I wondered to myself. I couldn't answer my conscience logically, there was no answer that seemed good, seemed 'righteous'.

As I dressed for bed, climbing under my quilt, I curled into a little ball on my side. Edythe's jacket laid beside my pillow, where I could still reach out and touch. A few small shudders trembled through me from the chill, and my mind still swirled dizzily as my fingers unconsciously stroked the beige material. Like a lifeless cat that fell asleep beside me.

Eyes half closed, drinking in the scent and sight of the gift Edythe had given me, my mind swelled with images I could barely understand, and some, I fought weakly to repress – distracted by the perfect bliss of how the evening had ended to want to remember what had almost happened by the warehouses of Port Angeles.

About three things, I was absolutely certain, and nearly asleep – slipping away from consciousness, these things flooded over and over through my mind.

First, Edythe was a vampire. Second, there was a part of her – and I didn't know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with her…


	11. Chapter Ten - My New Normal

_Much to the chagrin of my original purpose for my fanfiction's beginning, I'm making so many little changes that perhaps it would be best not to have strong expectations for where the story is going. I wish to keep it as true to the spirit of the original as best I can; but, despite trying to follow a parallel line, this story weaves back and forth in the timing, adding more details sooner or later than where they were originally intended. I hope the story is unfolding organically, without too many liberties being taken that could offend hard-core twilight fans.._

 _I've done a ton of research, it may even lead to a spin off story for a possibility of how Alice could have been turned, an 'Alice' story - but I would like to not work on that until I'm at least done with this fanfiction series. My inspiration also delved to Esme and Carlisle falling in love; but, who knows - maybe those ideals will eventually come out. Sometimes I give too much, I admit, but I would have enjoyed twilight to have a little more details and facts about the other prominent character than they did._

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

* * *

Waking up the next morning was like slipping out of a warm bath. It was very hard to argue with the part of me that was sure that last night was a dream, even a nightmare, and my fingers stretched to look for the light beige slender hoodie that I had cradled with last night. For a moment, panic filled me when I couldn't find my proof; but, it had just slipped under my pillows in the night. I pulled it out with relief and cradled it against my chest – bringing it to my face, nuzzling it around my nose, and breathing in Edythe's intoxicating smell. Such a scent couldn't have been dreamed up, even if I took the time to think about what kind of scent could possibly be the best in all the world.

Sliding the hoodie back into it's newly sanctioned spot beside my pillow, I stood and gazed out the window for the morning. A smile stretched over my face, because it was gloomily foggy and dark – absolutely perfect. Edythe would have no reason at all not to be in school today. Needing to look nicer than usual, for whatever reason, I poured through my dresser and scowled. A thermal sweater and faded black jeans were the best I could do, and I was about to grab my coat when I remembered Jessica still had it in her car. Not wanting to wear Edythe's coat, since it would erase her smell from the fabric, I sighed and walked back upstairs to my bedroom. Tugging the coat from it's cozily folded state, I slid my arms into the hoodie and wrapped my arms around my chest to hug myself; hug the jacket close.

Swallowing a granola bar in three bites and chasing it down with half a cup of milk, I hurried out the door. Hopefully the rain would hold until I could find Jessica, I mused to myself as I locked up the house and slid my bag over my shoulder.

Outside, it was unusually foggy. The air was almost smokey from the thickness of it. Icy cold mist clung to where my face and neck were exposed, and I couldn't wait to get the heat going in the Beast. It was such a viscous fog that I could barely see a few feet down the driveway, and I barely noticed that there was a car blocking my driveway until I was at the driver side door, fumbling with my keys. My heart thudded, stuttered in my chest, and then picked up again at double time it had been beating before.

I didn't see where she came from; but, suddenly Edythe was there, leaning against the edge of my truck.

"I was thinking...perhaps you would like to come with me to school, today?" She asked, grinning widely in amusement at the no-doubt deer-like surprise which had completely overtaken my face. There was uncertainty in her voice, I was free to refuse and a part of her seemed hopeful of that; but, another voice called out, and my answer was made for me.

"E', Bella, we're going to be late for school if you two keep lollygagging."

Leaning past Edythe, Alice was waving from the backseat of the Volvo, the window pulled down through the fog enough for me to see her arm waving me down with the skill of a ribbon-dancer gymnast.

Edythe sighed, almost comically loud. "Alice...must you?" The devil-fairy smirked, and her hand moved inside the window before the glass gave us some measure of privacy again.

Edythe was wearing loose desaturated blue jeans, a black slender hoodie with red stitch-work, and a white t-shirt underneath. Clearly not as enthused by jewelry as Alice was, I noticed she wore a beaded twine-chord necklace with an animal tooth dangling from her throat, and I reached out autonomously to try and touch that tooth. Edythe smiled, tilting her head at me. Her golden eyes watched my fingers, then my arm and face when looking under her chin proved to be impossible.

"It's a shark tooth," she hummed, and I twisted the tooth a little to examine it further before I let it go. "I caught it myself, Emmett challenged me to a swimming contest," she mentioned, and the necklace had a strange pride to it that invigorated me to share her enthusiasm.

"Do you keep something from all your kills?" I had to ask, and Edythe's expression waned. She recoiled, sliding her hands into the front pockets of her black hoodie.

"No more than you do," She turned back to me, teasing as she gestured with her chin toward the beige hoodie I wore.

Flushing, I scooted to match her pace. "Oh please, like I could kill you."

She turned to me, a wry, playful grin splashed onto her tomboyish mouth. "Directly? No, but...we're certainly going to be attracting a – great – deal of trouble."

The meaning behind her words brought the cold reality of her and I through my mind again, and I found myself torn between sitting in the front passenger seat, next to Edythe, or in the backseat next to Alice. For the former, I could be closer to Edythe – which sent sunbeams of hope through my core. For the second, if I was near Alice, no one would suspect anything when our car pulled up in the parking lot. Being caught meant we could be separated, and with pain I reluctantly slipped to touch the handle of the backseat door and slid in beside Alice.

Who was eager to see me, grinning like a loon, clearly getting a big kick out of the wonky romance novel that was my life. "Good morning, Bella!" Alice praised; shoving her hands into some crinkly store bags to tear fabric after fabric, jewelry upon jewelry, between our seats. An eerily organized mess of clothes and accessories.

My happiness to see Alice quickly melted into horror, and I buckled my seat-belt and looked at the rear view to try and make eyes at Edythe. She was already turning her head to look at me, grinning with sadistic amusement at her sister clearly having found a new doll to dress up.

"…Alice, what's all this stuff?" I asked, even though the pit in my stomach already knew the truth.

"You'll see." Her laugh was melodic as she continued unpacking as though she didn't hear the panic in my voice. I couldn't look away from her hands, or those horrifying bags that were on the floor by Alice's feet, to notice that we were moving. Only when a pile of folded blouses tilted sideways from a u-turn did I clutch the seat ahead of me and look up to notice we were on our way.

"Alice…are...are those for me?," I groaned inwardly, and it made my voice sound like a toad. " If they are, I really don't need anything."

"Posh, no one -needs- any luxuries," Alice mentioned as she began thumbing through different necklaces and holding them up against my neck.

I swallowed. "But are they for me?"

Alice smiled mischievously, but said nothing more.

My eyes pleaded in desperation toward the rear view mirror; but, Edythe didn't do a thing to save me.

Glaring at Edythe, who was just more and more amused by my suffering, I finally looked back at Alice. She began taking out shirt after shirt from the bags on the floor. Some of which, were, surprisingly to my taste. Simple polo-style shirts, a dark green cardigan, things that weren't covered in daisies or overtly feminine. The most skin that some of these showed would likely be my collar bones, which relieved me, I really wasn't comfortable showing off cleavage. My mom did enough of that growing up, and I didn't like being stared at as it was.

"Just, don't make me wear pink ruffles and pearls..." I begged, and Alice suddenly looked down, away from the jewelry she had been sorting.

"I don't wear pearls," Alice mentioned, as though that silenced all subject of pearls, and I found myself feeling strangely guilty for bringing them up before she chuckled. All sunshine evaporating what sadness had overcast her golden eyes. "But ruffles, you will just have to get used to someday."

"Do I have to? Edythe doesn't have to wear any ruffles..." I said with a grimace, angrily curling my lip at the driver's seat – where Edythe was chuckling from the driver's seat.

"That's hardly true, Bella, once a year she gets to dress me up in whatever pink frilly dress she wants."

Alice scoffed as she held up a purple, long-sleeved, hooded coat that was similar to my coat that Jessica still had in her car. If Prada had sewn it, of course. "Oh – please – you like it," she said with a scoff as she held the coat up and then scowled at me.

Edythe shook her head secretly at me with a subtle wink. Clearly she let her sister believe she liked being dressed up to make Alice happy. Feeling as though I wasn't the only one to be sicked on by a fashionista, I relented, and started thumbing through the jewelry to be nice.

"I hope you have those candids on camera, Alice." It didn't even occur to ask if Edythe could be photographed, that would have been smart to know before blurting that out.

"Let's just say I 'used to' have them," she teased.

Frowning, I crossed my arms across my chest and tried to think of Edythe in an ugly, old fashioned, dresses with tacky feather boas to give myself some closure, even if I still couldn't imagine Edythe looking ugly in anything.

Alice shook her head at me, and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "You know, Edythe's jacket really doesn't match what you're wearing," she mentioned, and I grimaced. She probably wasn't wrong; but,, if Alice was going to point it out then maybe it would be easier if I just let her plan my outfits. Still, the thought of removing Edythe's coat unpleasantly sizzled something in me.

"No, but-"

"You can change when we're parked." Alice was already at my ears, painlessly setting small dangly earrings into the lingering holes of my naked earlobes.

"Woah, Alice!" Suffocated in jewelry as it was, the loose choker she clipped around my neck made me feel like a captured poodle. "Can you stop!? Please!?"

Alice froze with her hands in the air, smirking at me mischievously. "When you see your reflection you're going to love them, Bella. It's not too much, I promise."

"Like hell it isn't," She was so certain of herself that it made me angry, and I huffed as I reached up to take off the necklace.

Alice didn't stop me; but, she did cross her arms over her chest. "What's bothering you?"

"You, obviously," I snapped, looking down at the necklace to see what she had slapped on me without my consent. The chord of the choker was made of some kind of thick thread woven together, like Edythe's, with a wooden, flat, pendant carved with some kind of symbol or crest. If I wasn't so mad, maybe I would have been enamored by its pleasant simplicity. Wooden beads modestly decorated the chord holding the pendant, which was small and made to hang just under the neck without being too tight.

Alice curled her mouth dismissively. "No, it isn't. You -love- the pendant."

Edythe sighed from the front seat. "Alice, I told you it was too much."

"It's not," she insisted.

"It – really – is," I demanded; but, still held the necklace she picked out in my hands. Mostly so she wouldn't attack me and force it around my neck again. Secretly because I did like it, and I just didn't want to give her the satisfaction of being right.

"What is wrong with people pampering you, Bella? Why does it bother you so much?"

"Alice..." Edythe threatened, and I looked up to see Edythe's eyes mildly glaring in the rear view mirror.

Alice was never uncouth. Even as she irritably argued with her sister, she was refined and composed. This graceful composure resurfaced as she began gently re-folding the clothes she had set down and slipping them back inside the paper bags.

With a grimace to myself, I knew her logic wasn't wrong, even if I wished she had been. "It's just weird to me," I tried to counter, apologetically. "If you take a moment to read my mind, you'll see what's bothering me."

Alice set the purple coat so it laid across the top half of the back seat; waiting for me. "I, at least, insist that you try on the coat when we get to school," she said softly, her mood more thoughtful than sour. She smiled cheerfully as the other clothes and accessories vanished into the large paper bags. "Besides, I can't read your mind, that's something only Edythe was reborn with."

"Oh, I thought you all could...sorry," I guarded my words, biting my tongue a moment. "I swear though, sometimes it seems like you can.."

Alice's gentle mischief resurfaced as she craned her head to look at me. "I have precognosis – I see glimpses of the future. It's truly a wild card, as some visions only occur because of the current choice a person has made, while others are set in stone," She mentioned, trailing off for a moment. "Even after all this time...I cannot always be certain which type of vision is shown to me. Last night, I saw you loved my gifts, and now you are upset. So, either I misread my vision, or something has occurred which changed it."

"I just really don't like to be spoiled," I tried to reassure, still absorbing her confession of future-reading. Alice thoughtfully watched me, and I couldn't tell if she was just thinking or trying to read my past. Could she read the past, too?

"Bella, these are all things you need. You've worn the same shirt twelve times in the past month," Alice insisted.

I grimaced. "I'm really uncomfortable with you buying me clothes, though, I want to save for things myself."

She scoffed, giggling at me. "I didn't buy them."

My eyes flickered to the fancy bags. "...Really..." I accused, raising my eyebrows.

She grinned, smirking and holding her nose in the air with cheerful pride. "Really," she assured me. "I make my own clothes, and everyone's clothes, most of the time. All of -these- clothes, however, are snippets of ensembles I made for Edythe that she doesn't wear anymore." She teased her sister with her words, and Edythe playfully frowned into the rear view mirror.

My heart leapt in my chest. "What? These are yours?" I asked in awe, looking over the necklace with renewed interest.

Edythe wryly smirked at me. "They would look much prettier on you."

Instantly my loathing of 'dress up' considerably waned. "So this..." I looked at the purple coat now, with genuine enthusiasm as I ran my fingers over the warm, semi-coarse, purple material.

Alice eagerly nodded to me, brushing her fingers along the embroidered woven flowers subtly stitched over the 'heart' of the purple coat. "Verily. As soon as I saw how much you fancy wearing Edythe's things, I had a giant closet full of garments to resize." She mentioned, gesturing to the sleeve of the coat as she held up the wrist toward me.

Showing me the hem of the sleeve, specifically, to where it looked uneven or shortened from the original sleeve length. "Your height difference was the largest factor to allot for; but, as your bust is slightly larger than Edythe's is, I didn't need to take in the fabric to make up the distance."

My entire face flushed – and I distracted myself from having to think about or comment on how large or flat Edythe's bust was by slipping the chord necklace back on and trying to give Alice a quick hug. It was weird, hugging Alice, because she froze and stopped breathing altogether from shock until the hug ended.

"Thank you! These are great! You're awesome! Maybe your precognition isn't all wrong today."

"Oh – you –do– smell good..." Alice mumbled.

The driver's seat of the Volvo mildly squeaked as Edythe turned around and gave her sister an -extremely- potent warning look.

"Sorry, it slipped out," Alice mumbled and Edythe turned back around to watch the road.

Which meant that Alice didn't seem to catch my red face. Before I managed to regain my composure from that embarrassment, she was already going into too many details about how she made the purple jacket. At first, it was interesting, but then she went into so many details that she might have well talked about football.

For the short stretch of ride left, I could feel Edythe enjoying my torment. Her eyes were on me, not the road, and I couldn't look away – even though her eyes not being on the road still made me inwardly cringe.

When the school came into sight, I turned to look at Alice again. "So, this really was no trouble for you?"

Alice grinned. "No hardship at all. All of these clothes were set to be shoved in a donation box," she reassured me, and I felt like I could breathe again. What slim traces of irritation vanished and I grinned a bit at my new-to-me, re-purposed, coat. Would it smell like Edythe, too?

The Volvo soon came to a stop in its usual parking spot, and unable to keep my hands to myself, I excitedly picked up the purple coat. A question burned in my head, and it needed to be answered. Waiting for the split second that Alice and Edythe weren't looking when they stepped out of the Volvo, I buried my nose into a sea of purple to see if it smelled like Edythe. Which I had intended to do as subtly as possible; but, on finding it smelled even stronger than the beige hoodie had, I let time get away with me and breathed in wistfully with my eyes closing from bliss.

Which was what I was still doing when Alice and Edythe turned around to make sure I was getting out of the car…

"Bella?" Alice asked sheepishly, and I opened my eyes again, only for my entire face to drain of color.

Alice had her mouth over her face, not able to stifle the giggles from passing through her fingers. Feeling even more embarrassed than I already was, I turned; mortified, to see if Edythe had noticed. She had...and she was smirking with devilish amusement. Unable to withstand the unexpected flirtation to her sinister mouth – I felt my face flush and sweat from mortification.

The purple coat fell out of my hands, and I unsnapped the seat-belt so fast it slapped into my shoulder as I climbed out of the Volvo!

Edythe was already there, holding the purple coat open for me. Unzipping the light beige hoodie and darting it into the back seat, I uncomfortably swallowed to try and compose myself. Her infuriatingly breathless smirk had melted into a soft line, and I nodded warmly to her as she slid the coat on me and zipped it up for me. Alice was still holding her hands over her face to keep from giggling again.

"It's not that funny," I muttered, mostly to myself, from embarrassment. Before I turned to look away from her, and froze.

Alice was no longer the only person staring at me.

Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were uncomfortably staring at us from the side of an emerald colored Jeep four parking spots down. Emmett was mildly amused, Jasper more suspiciously curious, and Rosalie…

Rosalie was glaring at me.

Her face completely contorted with such a potent loathing that I found myself completely frozen until she turned away from us and stomped off toward campus.

Edythe gently touched my shoulder. Shivers rushing through me when her voice reached my ear. "Don't pay any attention to her."

Even with her encouragement, I shivered. "What's her problem?"

The pained eyes looking down at me was enough of an answer, she didn't need to say anything more; but, she did very quietly. "You. Me. Us being 'friends'." Really, I was dumb to have even asked.

Swallowing the lump in my throat as Edythe moved her hand from my shoulder, I nodded softly. Disappointed of how fast the shivers from her touch had left me."Oh."

"She'll understand someday." Alice reassured in a whisper, but I wasn't convinced. I didn't know if – I – could understand someday, much less anyone else.

Edythe moved away from me, the four feet of distance stinging me to my core as she became my satellite. Alice walked between us, and my hands slid into my coat as we walked. That didn't stop me from trying to look over at Edythe's face every chance I had, though. We stopped near the cafeteria, because Alice's class was on the opposite side of campus.

"Hey, listen, um...thanks again, Alice. It was really nice of you to resize things for me."

Alice glowed, and she looked up at me with so much happiness that for a second I worried she might burst. "I knew you would love it, try not to spill anything on it at lunch, alright?"

With that, Alice sauntered cheerfully away, and scurried into a little jump or 'ballet leap' of belated joy toward the waiting arms of Jasper – who was lurking several yards off for her to join him. Judging only by the wisps of black hair animatedly dancing around her head, she was clearly jabbering excitedly to her boyfriend as they walked away.

Edythe lingered; but, kept the same 'friendly' distance from me as we moved again. "Thank you, for playing along," she entreated to me.

"Sure thing," I said, before blinking uncomfortably for a moment. "I really am happy though, if it's not...really weird, that I like wearing your stuff."

Edythe smirked, her eyes on the pendant of my woven choker. "Not at all, Alice is always making us clothes. I run out of places to put them all."

Happening to look up at the right moment, I noticed with horror that Jessica had been waiting under the shelter of the cafeteria's roof overhang. A few yards away, by the door. I stopped walking, because it looked like her eyes were about to bug out of her sockets. Over her arm, bless her, was my jacket.

Edythe turned to see her as well, and waved her over to us. "Good morning, Jessica, how are you?"

Jessica didn't want to move; but, at being greeted so pleasantly, she stepped forward. It wasn't really Edythe's fault that her voice was so velvet and perfect, or how easy she could dazzle people, but dazzled and confused; Jess sauntered over.

"Er...Hi," Jess shifted her wide eyes to me, in shock, trying to gather her no-doubt jumbled thoughts. "H-Here Bella," she handed me my coat, and reluctantly I took it and held it over my arm.

"Thanks, Jess."

"Sure...um..." She paused, looking back and forth between Edythe, my new purple jacket, and myself. "I guess I'll...see you in Trig...bye," She gave me a lost, bewildered, look before she walked away. Pausing twice to peek over her shoulder at Edythe and I before I couldn't see her anymore.

What on Earth was I going to tell her…What on Earth had she seen? Guessed?

"What are you going to tell her?" Edythe asked me anxiously.

I turned, furrowing my brows at her. "I thought you couldn't read my mind.."

Edythe lightly nodded. "I can't. However...I can read hers – she's planning to ambush you in class."

I groaned, sick to my stomach as I started to remove the purple coat I was wearing, to try and replace it with my own. Only to have Edythe gently set her hand on my arm to stop me.

"You don't have to take mine off, it's yours now," Edythe almost pleaded with me, and I frowned. "Besides, best friends wear each other's jackets all the time...here." She said, taking off her black hoodie to reveal that loose, form-hugging, white t-shirt framing her lithely muscular form. Swallowing uncomfortably, looking down at the tips of her doc martins boots peeking out under her jeans to keep from staring. I felt her take my coat from my hands, and on the edge of my periphery vision, she slipped it on.

When I raised my head, a laugh croaked under my breath at her. "P-Please," I covered my mouth not to laugh so loudly, but it was no use. "Take it off, before you destroy my jacket." The sleeves were comically short, and the bottom didn't reach her waist by at least four inches.

Edythe sighed, smirking playfully at me as she removed my coat and reinstalled the black hoodie with red stitch-work in its place. "It's hard to find clothes for me in the department stores," she teased, handing me my jacket once she folded it into a rectangle for me.

Smirking, almost sheepishly, I followed her; unbeknownst that she was leading me to my English class. "Well, I think you'd look good in anything."

She smirked. "Anything?"

I felt myself starting to flush, and looked away from her flirtatious eyes to watch the ground.

"Concerning Jessica, though, what -are- you...planning on telling her?"

Jessica wasn't exactly my best friend in the world; but, if she knew the truth about Edythe and I...I really didn't know if I could trust her not to gossip about it. Huffing air from my nose in concern, I shrugged. "I don't know, just the truth? We're all good friends, we had a sleepover, that sort of thing?"

Edythe leaned closer, to mutter to me. "She wants to know if you bailed on purpose last night to spend time with me."

"Yikes..." I hadn't considered she might come to that conclusion; but, at least knowing it know might give me time to think of an answer. "What else is she thinking?"

Edythe bit her lip. "She's wondering if you're both friends, if she's cool enough to hang out with Alice and I, too. 'That sort of thing'," she mimicked me; but, I was more endeared than irritated.

"So nothing...more than that?" I asked in muted tones, and Edythe shook her head gently at me, her mouth tugging into my favorite uneven smile as she turned her eyes away from me.

"I'll see you at Lunch," Edythe promised; but, before I could ask why she was walking away now, when I wasn't at the door yet, the answer spoke for himself.

"Hey, Bella!" Mike said as he walked close to me, hands in his pockets and a smile on his friendly face.

"Oh, Hey Mike," I replied, walking swiftly toward the door to our English class.

"How was the trip to Port Angeles?"

Small town, of course he knew. "It was…" there was honestly no way to sum it up that I could reveal out loud. "Great," I finished, lamely. "Jessica got a – really – awesome dress."

He wet his lips with bashful enthusiasm. "Did she, uh, say anything about Monday night?" He asked, his eyes brightening considerably. Relief filled me, and I felt really happy that his affections had shifted from me to Jessica so quickly.

"She said she had a really good time," I assured him.

"She did?" He asked, unable to hide his enthusiasm.

"Completely, she tried on like ten dresses yesterday," I added as we entered the class and sat down at our usual table. "I think you'll be blown away."

Mr. Mason called the class to order, then, asking us to turn in our Macbeth papers. English, and then Government, passed by in a pleasant blur. As much as I worried over what to tell Jessica and agonized that whatever I said – Edythe might hear – in some shape or form, it could have been worse. At least, at this point, she hadn't caught on. Alice being around was certainly helping to protect the both of us.

Which made me wonder to myself...why Alice had become so distant and morose when I brought up Pearls. But that was a question for another day.

The fog had nearly dissolved by the second hour; but, the day was still dark with low, oppressing, clouds. Smiling up to the sky, I accepted that Edythe was right – of course. As soon as I walked into Trig, Jessica was sitting in the back row – nearly bouncing off her seat in agitation like a worried chihuahua. Reluctantly, I walked over to sit by her, trying to convince myself that it would be better to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Hey, Jess," I began to say; but, she slid a note across the table instantly.

Sitting down, tucking my chair in, I bent my head to give the note my full attention.

The note read:

'What's going on, Bella? Why do the Cullens suddenly want to hang out with you? Did you just say you'll go dress shopping with us so you can sneak off and hang out with your new best friend? Is it because I'm dating Mike? Why were you in their car today? Why was Rosalie glaring at you? What's going on? You need to tell me everything.'

Glancing up at Jess, who looked like she might burst if I say something, I took a pencil from my bag, sharpened it with a mini sharpener, and wrote back a reply.

'I don't know, Alice and Edythe just want to hang out with me, lately. Edythe and I have Biology together, and Alice is excited Edythe has a friend and joins in. I didn't ditch you, I got lost, and I was too embarrassed to call you guys. I don't know what Rosalie's problem is, I don't think she likes me. Also, Mike asked me about you.'

Sliding the piece of paper back, the paper was swooped from me before I could even move my hand away.

I could tell she was agonizing over my answers and shaking her head worriedly – at least until she saw the last line and her head stopped moving. She held the paper in her hands, reading my answers over again, eyes going back and forth over the lines, before she looked up and quietly gasped. "He did?"

"Yeah," I said with a smile.

"What did he say?" She squeaked, and I awkwardly smiled.

"He wanted to know if you told me about your date."

Jessica's entire face pinkened. "What did you say?..."

"I said you had a really great time, he seemed excited about it."

Jessica's face went from pale, to red, to obnoxiously overjoyed as she scribbled on the paper and held it out to me. Other students were starting to stare at her, a pain I knew too well.

'I'll tell you all about it if he asks me for another date, but for now, how did you get home so fast last night? I was just going to leave you a message.'

Reading the words over, twice, I swallowed uncomfortably and scribbled a reply.

'She didn't want to miss her curfew and sped like a maniac all the way home.'

Jessica didn't bother to slide the paper back, she just wrote diagonally along the edge of my paper, unconsciously dotting her 'I's with little hearts.

'Is that the only reason?'

I nodded, but wrote 'yes' just to appease her.

She looked at me shrewdly, but didn't say anything, only scribbled more on the edge of the paper.

'Is that why Rosalie was glaring at you?'

Unable to explain, even if I wanted to, I shook my head.

'I don't know, Jess. I mean, it's not like Emmett is taking me to prom.'

Jessica snorted, loudly, which made everyone in the class stare at us.

Petrified at the glare that Mr. Varner was giving us for interrupting the start of class, I cleared my throat too loudly and dug my book and paperwork out of my backpack. Shoving the page of girlish notes into my backpack. Jessica got the gist, and took out her own textbook.

For the rest of the class, and Spanish after it, Jessica kept trying to dissect every possible way that Mike's questions could have been interpreted. She kept asking until she no-doubt memorized my complete play-by-play of Mike's facial expressions. I wouldn't have helped draw it out for as long as I did if not for being worried that the subject would go back to me or the Cullens again.

Finally, the bell rang for lunch, and I almost jumped out of my seat – rushing to shove my Spanish book into my backpack as Jessica hurriedly copied me.

"Are Alice and Edythe joining us?" She chirped excitedly, and I guessed that my uplifted expression must have tipped her off.

"Yeah, they said so, anyway."

Jessica sighed, shaking her head. "It's not fair how gorgeous they are, but, if Mike really likes -me- then he won't stare at -them-," she reasoned to herself as she slid her backpack over her arm, grinning eagerly. "Do you think Alice really meant it, about getting a limousine?"

I shrugged uncomfortably as we walked. "You'd really have to ask her."

Stepping out of the classroom door, I suddenly stopped, and Jessica bumped right into me – sending me toppling forward toward the ground like the lightweight I was.

Edythe had been leaning against the wall – looking more like a Greek Goddess than anyone in the world had a right to look – waiting for me. When I was knocked forward she caught me, and for the briefest moment our eyes met up close. Heart beating fast, I thought I could feel her breath on my face, and for a second I forgot myself and kept staring into her honeyed orbs.

Edythe suddenly looked uncomfortably angry, stoic and stiff, her mouth tightening into a hard line. She let me go, her fingers moving away from my upper arms. Feeling more cold when her icy fingers slid away than before she magically appeared, I cleared my throat and prayed to God that Jessica couldn't read what had to be obviously plastered all over my face.

Jessica, catching herself on the edge of the door from almost stumbling, looked at Edythe and I with a great deal of uncertainty before she stepped over the threshold. Heading for the cafeteria before I could think to tell her that I'd blushed from embarrassment.

Edythe looked at me, unsettled, and tugged me away by the purple coat sleeve covering my arm. Guiding me away from where other students were heading out the door, she let my arm go. She didn't say anything to me then, only walked toward the lunchroom, speaking loudly enough to perhaps be heard by Jessica.

"Sheesh, Bella, how haven't you broken your nose, yet?" Edythe asked with a playful sneer, and I felt more disheartened than grateful when Jessica paused to look back at us with uncertainty.

Lauren was walking around the corner then, and seemed genuinely happy to see her friend Jessica standing there, only to stop – look at where Jess was gazing toward – and narrow her eyes at me.

Which of course reminded me. Where was Tyler? Now seemed as good a time as any to slap him upside the head.

"Hello, Bella," the familiar southern voice made me turn my head around. Jasper and Alice were there, with Emmett standing a few feet behind them.

"H-Hey Jasper, Alice," I just nodded to Emmett, not sure if I should greet him yet or not.

Emmett waved as Alice grinned and moved toward me with her arms open. Uncomfortably hugging her, Alice pooled back to lean against a much taller Jasper and excitedly smile at me. "Look who the cat dragged in," She said, looking at Emmett with cat-like cheerfulness.

"H-Hey," I repeated, and Emmett chuckled, his voice low and rambunctious. He seemed friendly enough, even if his giant muscled body made me very uncomfortable for some reason.

"Alice tells us you'll be coming around our house soon, for something."

Jasper narrowed his eyes at Emmett, even though I thought his voice sounded friendly. Suspecting some kind of innuendo, I furrowed my eyebrows, and Emmett cocked a grin at his brother and Alice; uncomfortably apologetic.

Alice lightly slapped Emmett's upper arm, and I felt alienated when I turned to look for Edythe and she was gone. Panic filling my chest, I looked hastily everywhere I could, to find her all the way by the cafeteria near Jessica and Lauren. Looking at me nervously, and worriedly, as she watched me from afar. Clearly I must have been supposed to follow, or she was trying to dazzle Lauren and Jessica to not focus on me for a while. Regardless, Edythe looked to be grimacing now. Something predatory sparkling in her eye as she watched from afar.

"Uhm...I better go...check on Rose," Emmett commented, and he walked off in the other direction as I waved goodbye.

"Oh, okay, later Emmett," I said in passing, and he waved at me with a very warm, very brotherly, grin before he turned completely and jogged away.

Once he was gone, my brain registered the name. Rose, an obvious nickname for Rosalie, but I remembered what Edythe had said in the car last night...

Jasper and Alice looked at me once Emmett had gone, and I turned to walk toward the cafeteria again.

Alice and Jasper followed me, albeit Jasper sank to be a little further behind than Alice was. "So, tonight, I'm thinking you'll come over? Meet Carlisle and Esme?"

I blinked. "What?"

Jasper sent me as encouraging smile as his pained eyes could muster before he wrapped his arm around Alice's waist as though to hint that she was becoming overly enthusiastic again.

"Alice, I haven't asked her yet..." Edythe's perfect, velvet, voice saved me and I turned my head to see her walking toward me.

Alice smirked bemusedly, and then sighed with a playful chuckle at Edythe's discomfort as she leaned into Jasper's side. "Well, hurry it up – won't you?"

Edythe waited until Jasper and Alice were inside the cafeteria before she looked back at me.

I stared at her incredulously. "Asked me what?"

Edythe bit her lip, leaning in closer to whisper to me. "Bella, would you...please consider meeting my parents tonight."

My eyes widened in horror. "I-I can, but, why."

Edythe swallowed, making every effort not to touch me in any way, or lean too close to me. "When I was...first, seventeen...if you wanted to...date...anybody, you had to meet their parents first. Call it an...old tradition, for some of us."

Swallowing, I looked at her and bit down on my tongue, which felt unnaturally swollen. "Are we?"

Edythe furrowed her brow. "Are we, what?"

Walking away from the door of the cafeteria, to where I didn't see anyone in earshot, I whispered indignantly. "'Dating'. Are we 'dating'."

Edythe narrowed her mouth into a hard line. "If I was a boy, you wouldn't have the audacity to ask me something so impetuous."

Worry flew through me, and I looked down with remorse, but the desire to look into her eyes again was too strong – I could only bear to look away for a moment. "Maybe, I mean, I've never dated anyone before...I don't know how any of it works."

She raised one eyebrow. "Never?"

How did she not know that? Surely she'd heard it before, or I'd said it before, in some fashion. Was the idea of me not having dated before somehow unbelievable? I just glared incredulously back.

Edythe considered my face, then nodded. "I...thought we were, or will be...even if you want to...hide it, from people."

My heart raced and I smiled, even if a part of my stomach felt guilty that I was so happy.

"But for now, we better get in line, before there's nothing decent left for you to eat," Edythe mentioned, and I followed her with my hands in the pockets of my purple, zip-up, coat. Trying, probably with limited success, not to look as incandescently happy as I was.

Walking with Edythe through the crowded lunchtime rush was a lot like my first day here – a lot of people were staring at me. Or if not me, my new purple coat. I fidgeted nervously with the zipper on my jacket as she stepped up to the counter and began to fill a try with food.

My eyes widened uncomfortably. "What are you doing?" I objected. "You're not getting all that for me, are you?"

She shook her head, chuckling at me softly. "Half is for me, of course." She shook her head before she stepped forward to buy the food.

Disbelief raised one of my eyebrows suspiciously. Could she even eat?

Alice and Jasper were already waiting for us at the usual, long, table. Jasper sat at the very edge of the table, looking exceedingly uncomfortable to be there, while Alice was jabbering away with Lauren, Jessica, and another girl. Angela and Eric weren't there today, and with a quick glance I found them sitting a few tables away; alone and holding hands while they ate.

Waving warmly as others at the table waved to us, Lauren narrowed her eyes for a second, but I sat down anyway and Edythe scooted into the seat beside me. The tray slid between us, and my attention instantly gravitated back to her.

"Here, take whatever you want," Edythe offered, and I picked up a green apple, turning it around in my hands.

"Thanks." It was always a little strange to me, to eat fruit in a group, from the mushy texture and everyone staring when you bit into it. So I needed a few minutes to get used to it first. Most of the other kids at the table were almost finished with lunch, anyway. If I waited a little more, the close audience would be gone.

Alice held a Pepsi on the table, and I didn't need to peek forward to know that it was full. For reasons unfathomable to me, they were all still talking about the spring dance.

"Bella, Jessica says you helped her find the perfect dress for Saturday, do you think we could go over -my- dress choices, tonight?" Alice asked me, and I wasn't entirely sure if she was being serious or not. Jasper looked like he was completely zoned out, staring off into the distance.

"-You- really need help picking dresses?" I asked, as Alice was probably the most fashionably-minded person here. Someone lightly kicked me under the table, but when I looked there weren't any feet next to me. Guessing by the direction alone, and the playfulness over Alice's eyes, she was likely the culprit.

"Well, Edythe has no taste, you at least have a glimmer of potential," Alice teased, and Jessica almost spit her milk from the joke.

Glancing back at Edythe, who was clearly used to Alice's jokes, she rolled her eyes and sighed with exasperation. Which only made Jessica giggle more.

"Edythe looks cool," I protested, and Edythe smiled as she slid a plate with a slice of pizza on it toward me from our tray.

Setting down my apple to eat, I realized in that moment that Mike and Tyler weren't at the table with us – possibly from the complete overflow of estrogen and dance chatter. Glancing around for them, they were at another table with a couple other boys – Lee, Connor, and another I wasn't entirely sure of the name. All of them watching our table with interest and muttering to each other.

In my distraction, I felt something brush against my foot again, and this time I didn't need to look under the table to know it was Edythe's Doc Martin ankle boot, pressing against mine under the table. With being unable to hold hands, this closeness eased me enough to focus on my food again.

"If Bella doesn't want to come, maybe I could help?" Jessica asked, and I stared at her mid-chew. "If that's...okay with you?"

Even though I really didn't' care, and Jessica liked dress shopping a lot more than I did, I knew what the reason was for me going over there. To meet Edythe's parents. Which is something Jessica couldn't know about, and it hurt to look at Jessica's hopeful face while I reluctantly finished chewing – knowing I was about to crush her.

I swallowed. "Actually, Jess, I think it's better if Alice and I hang out tonight alone," Jessica's sadness was almost unbearable, so I quickly amended. "I mean, if you guys are sharing a Limo Saturday night, I already had time with you and Angela."

She relaxed; but, I could tell she was still disappointed. "I guess so..."

Alice scowled at me, biting her lip for a moment. "Actually, my dad said no limousines until Prom; but, we can use Rose's red convertible – which makes quite the entrance with the top down."

Edythe's eyes widened with concern, and I guessed it was because Rose had not been talked to about her car being sequestered for a teen dance.

"Alice...it only holds four people," Edythe warned, and Jessica's fork froze in her plastic bowl of salad.

"Not if we bunch up really tight," Alice countered, and Jasper looked down from 'la la land' with a panicky expression. If I wasn't imagining things, he looked like he was shaking from withdrawal pains or horrified. The sheer horror of being cramped in a tight convertible clearly was enough of a concern to want to pipe into this conversation.

"Alice...I can...rent us the limousine, so you ladies aren't suffocated in the back seat," Jasper was trying so hard to be warm, cordial, and polite; but, I felt a strange wave of desperation and abhorrence. The idea of having a limousine felt like such a great imposition that when Jessica spoke again, her words filled me with relief.

"No – no, don't worry about it. We really don't need one…" Jessica insisted as she slowly stood from her chair. "I'm...gonna go sit by Mike..."

Alice narrowed her eyes at Jasper accusingly. Her lips looked like they were subtly shaking, as though she had a ventriloquist dummy, but no sound came out. Jasper wiggled his lips back, but as I couldn't hear a thing, I turned my head when I saw a flicker of movement.

In the corner of my eye, Lauren started to follow Jessica. Seeing my chance of amends escaping me, I cleared my throat.

"W-wait, Lauren," I started.

She stopped, holding her tray of trash in front of her. "Yes?" Ugh, her voice was so nasally it almost made me want to let her suffer. Jessica waited for her, her gossip-thirsty eyes curious.

"I'm not going to Prom with Tyler, I think he misunderstood me."

Lauren narrowed her eyes suspiciously again. "Why not?"

Edythe was watching me, I could feel her gaze on my face, but if I turned to look at her – I'd get lost in her eyes and all our attempts at cover would be blown.

"I'm going with someone else. He goes to another School."

"Oh," Lauren said, before walking away to go dump her trash in the bin.

What the hell had I done.

Jessica was furiously bewildered, Alice turned away from eerily staring at Jasper – completely stunned, and under the table...Edythe moved her foot away from mine. Terrified that she was mad at me, I looked to her with an apologetic look, but she wasn't looking at me anymore. She was holding the apple I had set down, rolling it between her fingers.

When Jessica and Lauren left, followed by the other girls that had been sitting on the other side of the table, I tried to grab Edythe's arm.

She didn't stop me; but, her mouth was tugged into a hard, unpleasant, line. "Alice..."

Alice looked from me to her, and briefly nodded.

Not sure what exactly I was missing, suddenly Edythe set the apple down without much care, and the green orb rolled in circles before it stopped in the corner of the plastic tray.

"E-Edythe, no one's asked me – I'm sorry, I couldn't think of anything else to say."

Edythe wasn't watching me, she was watching her sister, who had the deepest expression of sympathy in her worried gaze as she looked at her sister. Alice briefly nodded again, and Edythe's mouth curled with so much disgust or loathing that I moved my hand back in front of my lap.

"No...it's...not a bad idea. If you went to Prom with someone else, it would...hide us."

Hide us. The words hurt me as badly as they were meant to; but, it wasn't like we had another choice.

Alice reached over, I felt her cold hand softly envelop my own as she smiled to me. "It's going to be okay, Bella."

Jasper was gone, and I wasn't entirely sure -when- he left; but, with it only being the three of us, I felt more comfortable to be wholly open. "I don't want to even go to Prom, much less with anyone else."

"Can we not talk about this right now, please..." Edythe mentioned, her hands tightly curled into aggressive fists, her icy flesh seething beside me.

"Sure, sorry," I said, trying to come up with -any- kind of subject to distract her – as she'd asked before in the car the other night, I looked at the green apple she had abandoned on the tray. Picking it up, I held it in my palms and thoughtfully ran my thumb over it.

Alice waited beside us, but she wasn't saying anything. Maybe they were having some kind of one-sided mental conversation. Great, who knows what they could be talking about. All the more reason to distract her.

"So...what happens if you guys accidentally eat something?"

Alice and Edythe turned to me, and with relief I realized that my distracting question had stalled their secret chat.

Watching me with her lioness eyes, Edythe took the apple from my hands, held it up in her palm, raised it, and bit into the apple. Shock filled me, widening my eyes, as Edythe chewed quickly, swallowed, and handed me back the apple.

"Oogh-" Alice grimaced, and with amusement on my face she shuddered and got up from the table. Looking as though Edythe had just bitten into the mysterious snickers bar found floating in a pool. "I cannot -believe- you did that, Eedee," Alice said – desperate to get away before her sister did anything else gross.

Edythe's mouth melted into wicked glee, and I couldn't help but take a bite from the apple where she had bitten into it. Indirect kisses were all I could have here, after all. Alone, Edythe's anger seemed to have considerably waned, and her foot found mine under the table again.

"So food doesn't...poison you?"

She heartily scoffed a laugh under her breath. "No; but, our taste buds don't work the same as yours anymore. That apple may as well have been a mouthful of crisp dirt." She said, grimacing, and I joined her in a weak laugh.

"I'm sorry I made you eat it."

Her mouth curled into that shiver-inducing crooked smirk. "You didn't, but it's a great way to get my sister to leave."

Unable to help myself, I laughed, and we shared the moment laughing together. Barely finishing the large slice of pizza and side of green apple, what appetite I had was sated. The rest chased away by the knots in my stomach from her smile.

"So about tonight," I brought up, wetting my lips for strength.

She interrupted me. "Whenever you are ready, it doesn't have to be tonight..."

My mouth curled into a grimace. "Why put it off? I want to go, but..."

"But?" She watched me with her large, glorious, eyes full of interest.

"Well, what if your parents don't like me."

She tilted her head, speaking quietly so we weren't overheard. Careful to make sure we were leaning together as though sharing gossip, and not for the stolen seconds of intimacy that they were. "Hmm."

"What?"

She grinned, but it contorted into a bittersweet frown. "Nothing...tis simply the conundrum that is Bella Swan." When I just stared at her, she continued her thought. "Of all the issues which might pose a concern to you...humiliation, banishment from your family...death...you're concerned whether or not my parents will approve of you."

My mouth frowned into a hard line. "It's hardly funny, though."

She relented, with a soundless sigh. "Believe me, I wish it was the only issue."

Grumbling, I pushed the tray away from me and leaned on my hands; elbows on the table in horrible posture to match her 'gossiping' pose. "Well, it isn't. You made it sound like if your parents don't approve of me, we won't be...together." I couldn't bring myself to keep saying 'friends'.

She leaned away, if only a few inches, and her eyes were watching the table instead of my face; despite the closeness. "Carlisle and Esme would never kick me out for this," she reassured me. "My father is a great deal older than all of us put together. He's been all over the world, and this kind of...affection, is not something he hasn't seen before in his life."

"And your mom?"

"I already know without a shadow of a doubt that Esme will love you. There is no person in the world with a larger heart than hers."

Reassured, even if my stomach was still in knots, I bit down on my tongue for a moment and spoke. "So...tonight?"

Her head softly nodded. "I shall give Carlisle a call after school, see if tonight is a good night."

My throat suddenly felt swollen. "A call?"

She smirked darkly at me. "I drove you to school today, I was planning on taking you back home after, unless you would rather we drive straight to my house after school?..."

All color drained from my face. I did -not- look fit to 'meet the parents' in any capacity.

"Um, m-maybe not the best idea to rush it that much..."

She smirked. "I thought so."

Swallowing the fluid in my mouth, I leaned back and prattled my fingers on the table to address a -worse- concern now plaguing me. "Was...Alice serious? About going over dresses for the dance?"

Edythe snickered. "Gravely."

I groaned. "Can I -please- have a break from dresses for a little while…"

Edythe reached up, admiring the lion-like symbol of a crest carved into the flat, round, pendant of my new woven-chord choker. "Mhm, I can probably get you out of it."

A breath of relief escaped me. "Thanks."

Something sadistic burned in her golden eyes, making me uneasy. "However, putting it off…only gives the wily hunter extra time to plan -far more- nefarious deeds."

My face paled over again, imagining with great horror all the things Alice could do to me. Make up, clothes – I could already feel myself suffocating under buckets of concealing cream. Desperate to not talk anymore about all the ways Alice could pamper me to death, I changed the subject.

"Speaking of wily hunters...how was your 'camping trip' to Goat Rocks? What did you...um…'eat'?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Bears. Grizzly is Emmett's favorite."

Unable to resist, a chuckle escaped me. "Not sure why that isn't surprising to me. But then, he kind of looks like a bear."

Her eyes, which had been scrutinizing my reaction, brightened in amusement before she laughed. "Don't let Rose hear you say that..."

Rose coming up made me uncomfortable, even if I couldn't exactly pinpoint why. Maybe because we had almost died in a similar way? Maybe from how upset Edythe had been, thinking about me dead that way? Was I jealous? I didn't know, I'd never been jealous of anyone before…but I felt unsettled, in the very least, and I wanted to not talk about her – the glaring woman who was at least twice as gorgeous as Alice was, conventionally at least.

"So, what's your favorite, shark?"

Edythe raised an eyebrow, the corners of her mouth tugging down in disapproval. "Mountain Lion."

"Oh," I said in a politely disinterested tone, even though I was extremely interested. When I showed enthusiasm for her abilities or about her 'condition', she seemed to get extra irritated. It's no doubt she caught on, as she continued on the subject.

"We have to be careful not to impact the environment with injudicious hunting, focusing on areas with an overpopulation of predators. Sometimes we have to go to other states to hunt, I mean, there are always plenty of deer and elk here, and they'll do..." she grinned at me teasingly. "But where's the fun in that?"

"I guess deer aren't very exciting."

"No," she smirked, shaking her head. "But I kept promising Emmett we'd go. Early spring is his favorite season for Grizzly – they're all just coming out of hibernation, so they're extra cranky."

"Nothing more fun than an irritated grizzly bear," I agreed with a nod. Trying desperately to not think about Rose, the way she glared at me this morning; but, my brain wandered and I just kept reliving it over and over.

"Tell me what you're thinking, please..."

Glancing over at Edythe again, her expression was concerned, and I found myself guilty for not being ready to ask about Rose. "Well, I'm just...trying to picture how you hunt – but I can't."

"Oh, you want to know how we..." she flashed me her bright teeth in a brief, threatening, smile. I fought back a shiver before it could expose me further.

"So you...bite."

Edythe chuckled, reaching out to take the plastic fork which had been abandoned on the lunch tray. She snapped it between two fingers and dropped the pieces with expert precision. "Among other things."

Shivering, I couldn't help but ask. "Can I ask...what it's like? When you..."

"It's rather indescribable," she mentioned, pursing her lips. "But, I've been compared to a Puma...sometimes."

"What is Alice's favorite?" I had to ask, and Edythe looked both ways, as though she would get in trouble if she told me.

"Turkeys."

"…What..."

The shock on my face must have been hilarious, because Edythe couldn't stop laughing behind her closed fist and shaking her head at me.

"Seriously, what is it."

"She is fond of hunting intelligent prey, Red-tailed hawks especially."

I tried to imagine Alice jumping into trees after birds, and it just made me want to chuckle; but, my brain then imagined the strange fairy leaping into the top of giant redwood trees – launching a dozen stories into the air to catch a bird and land in another tree. That was, certainly more impressive, to say the least. Hawks were dangerous birds – went straight for the eyes, sometimes.

"That would be kind of neat to see," I said without putting any thought into it.

"Absolutely not!" Her face turned even whiter than usual, and her eyes were suddenly intensely furious. Leaning back, stunned and more than a little terrified by her reaction, she leaned away and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What...is it too scary for me?" I finally asked, when I could control my voice again.

She rolled her eyes. "If -that- were it, I would take you out tonight," She mentioned, her voice sharp as daggers. "You could certainly stand to have a healthy dose of fear induced in you."

For whatever reason, that irritated what was left of my fear, and anger seeped through me as I grimaced at her. "I'm...not...without fear, Edythe. I just think some things are more important than being afraid."

Her eyes narrowed to me, and she leaned a few inches further away from me; hands balling into fists. "Oh really? 'More important' than being afraid?"

"Yes." I seethed irritably at her nasty tone.

"Pray tell me what is more important?" She scowled at me.

"Pfft – like you -don't know-." My hand curled into a fist of anger, one that was far too similar to the one Edythe made. My hand was so tight that my nails mildly dug into my skin.

"Then prove it to me, Bella." Her eyes were desperate, angry, daggers gleaming beneath the fluorescent lights.

"Prove what?" I demanded, nervous because her voice was growing loud, and I thought people were looking at us.

In actuality, the cafeteria was nearly vacant. A few students I didn't exactly know were reading a book, staff were cleaning up the kitchen, and one or two people were at a table nearby playing some kind of card game.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. She released her fist, composing herself as best she could while her bottom lip trembled ferociously. Still thoroughly enraged...and eerily still – the eye of the storm again.

"Kiss me."


	12. Chapter Eleven - Another Complication

_Good afternoon, everyone! I finally finished this long and detailed chapter. Real life hit me a bit hard this week, and I went over some portions of it several times, but I'm sure another run through would only make it unbearably long, so enjoy!_

 _I'm actually intrigued by how this chapter ends, and I'm looking forward to working on the next one when I have the time to._

 _As always, you're welcome to leave comments or questions below, or PM them to me, and I'll answer them as soon as possible. PS: Oh yes, I planned on leaving the previous chapter -RIGHT THERE- on purpose. Hope it didn't make you squirm too badly Opera Ghost~_

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

* * *

"I thought so."

Her words echoed within me as Edythe stood from the lunch-table.

Perhaps if I wasn't so terrified of losing her, I might have been able to stretch forward and brush my lips against her own. Impassed and imprisoned between yearning and fear; I couldn't kiss her.

Even as she lingered before me, pleading to me with her perfect, mesmerizing, gaze – the dread beating through my veins was stronger.

Watching her slip away from me, I wasn't wholly certain if she was leaving me, or planning on ignoring me again. Cold stayed my heart; chilled me with frost that had nothing to do with the temperature. Each anguished frisson held me still. It may have only been a few seconds; watching Edythe looming over me with her eyes hard set on the wall. But, when she finally outstretched her hand toward me, my hand lurched forward and clasped hard against her own.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and yet I couldn't move. She tugged lightly against my hand, to try and spur me to stand up from the table.

"Edythe…W-wait…"

She stopped; irritably staring down at my face before her eyes met my own. The anger languished into pain, and soon the other students in the cafeteria were rushing out to make their classes. Her eyes never left my face, even as I took a cursory glance to make sure the cafeteria was empty.

"Yes?" She finally asked, her velvet voice soft and wavering.

Convinced that we were alone, I slowly stood, but I couldn't let go of her hand. Students were rushing by the windows of the cafeteria, hurrying to class, and still I tried to keep her with me a little more.

She outstretched her free hand, trying to gently touch my face. "Forgive me, that was heedless of me to…demand so much of you..."

"We're all...heedless, sometimes..." I whispered back.

Incandescently distracted by the rush of sensation floating through my flesh from her palm against my cheek, for a few seconds I forgot how to speak. It was stupidly easy for my brain to turn into mush. A whisper, a handshake, even just feeling her sitting a few inches from me caused my body to tremble and the hair on my arms to stand on end.

It wasn't fair, none of this was fair, and my eyes started to water. I wished, inescapably, that I was a boy – so that we could do as we pleased without judgment from everyone. It seemed a silly thing to take for granted, how easy it was to like a boy. No one would blame my parents for 'raising me wrong', if I had been born a guy. We didn't have the best relationship; but, I did care very much for my father – I couldn't do this to him unless there was no other choice.

Drinking in those few, blissful, fluttering heartbeats stirred by her presence, I moved to wet my lips. Leaning in to try and kiss her, now that we were alone.

Her fingers gently touched my lips, halting me from moving forward, and instead I pecked against the skin holding me distant. Confusion no doubt consuming my face as she watched me and gingerly shook her head.

"Class, Bella," she whispered.

"Y-yeah, we should go..."

Her fingers quietly withdrew from holding my cheek, and her adjacent hand released my fingers. I turned, to grab my bag, and when I looked back she was gone. Threads of bronze glistening under the canopy of greenish gray clouds – already half-way to Biology through the use of her unnatural speed.

Of course, it occurred to me, we couldn't keep entering class late together.

Clutching my hand into a fist, breathing now that the overwhelming scent of her skin was taken from me, I bent to breathe in my new purple coat. Just enough of a lingering smell for my brain to remember what it was to be happy now that my soul was crushed with her absence.

Everyone watched me as I walked into Biology and hastened to our lab table. With the bold exception of Edythe, who was penning some notes into her notebook, all the eyes pinned my stomach into a knot. Once I sat down, I glanced quickly over what Edythe was doodling – a bunch of pretty dots on paper that made little sense to me upside down. Right side up, they looked like music notes, and the tip of her pencil soundlessly tapped to a rhythm I couldn't hear as Mr. Banner slipped out of the room.

Edythe was still angling her chair away from me; but, she no longer sat as far from me as the lab-desk would allow. Instead, she sat quite close to me, so that our arms were almost touching. When her forearm flexed from sketching notes, soft zaps of energy sent goosebumps along my own. Grateful that my coat-sleeve hid my reaction, I slid my foot under the table to try and gently rest my foot against her own.

As soon as she felt my foot, she moved hers away, and in despair I turned in my seat to face where Mr. Banner has once been standing.

With superb timing, Mr. Banner backed carefully into the room. Dragging with him a tall, metal, frame on wheels that held a heavy-looking, outdated, TV and VCR. Ah! It was a movie day – the atmosphere of the classroom was almost tangible with relief.

Angling the TV to face the class, Mr. Banner shoved a tape into the reluctant VCR and walked to the wall to turn off the lights.

Bathing us in darkness.

Edythe's foot pressed against my own in the shadows, and my heart leapt in my chest. Stunned, drugged even, by the unexpected electricity coursing through me, amazement flushed through my hyper-aware consciousness. How could I feel this weightless, this foggy, and yet so crystal clear? Her fingers carefully touched my own, the pen set down between our hands, and the touch of her finger-pad caressing my knuckle caused a soundless gasp to drown me.

The impulse to turn, brush my lips against her own, nearly overwhelmed me. I moved my arm away when the television began to glow faint white across the room, my hands balling tightly into fists. Clearly I was losing my mind, nay – I was losing my body. My head was awake and alive, but every tremor flooding through my skin demanded me to act against my better judgment. Reigning in my mind seemed to be much easier than trying to control my arm. Trying to control my foot, to move it away from hers, was next to impossible.

The opening credits began; but, my eyes – of their own accord – flickered to her perfect face. Her own held my gaze, and my mouth curled sheepishly as I realized her posture was identical to my own. Her delicate looking artist's fingers clenched firmly into fists as she peered sideways at me.

The corner of her mouth, curling in a hidden crooked grin, effected me so much more at this moment than it had in any moment of my seeing it before. Her eyes somehow managed to smolder, even in the dark, and the movie wasn't worth watching at that point. Glancing away, before I started panting from the heat rushing through me, I shook my head. It was absolutely ridiculous that I should feel this dizzy from being in a darkened room with Edythe after everything we had been through the other night in her Volvo.

The entire hour of class stretched on and on, and for a while it felt like it was never going to end – not that I wanted it to. Unable to focus on the movie, barely able to grasp what the film was even about, the electric current that seemed to be originating from somewhere in her perfect body never let me go. Occasionally, I would permit myself another stolen glance in her direction, and it looked like she was just as inexplicably restless as I was. The overpowering craving to touch her refused to fade, to the point where I felt myself reach for her hand, and she held it, moving our hands under the table. Sitting so close that our arms touched, to hide that we were holding hands from the students behind us.

My chest felt as though it had been ground through a mortar and pestle when the lights flicked back on. Edythe was several inches away from me before my eyes could adjust to the change in light, to hide our earlier closeness.

Purposefully not looking beside me, because I wanted to gaze into her eyes so strongly that it physically hurt, other students began to file out of the classroom. Unlike her usual grace and swiftness to flee away from me after Biology, she stayed sitting there, and I moved like a snail to drink in what little time I had next to her.

Which is why Mike ended up clearing his throat to get my attention. "You coming, Bella?"

I looked up from sliding my Biology textbook back into my backpack. "Oh, yeah. Give me a second."

Inwardly I groaned, both from it being time for Gym class, and because the intensity of the past hour seemed to have destroyed what little balance I had. All I wanted was to stay near Edythe, touch her eerily icy skin and intertwine our fingers together for a little while longer. Daydreaming of deeper kisses than pecks threw me for such a loop that when I finally stood, I wobbled comically.

"Careful, Bella," her angelic voice did nothing to strengthen my knees.

Suddenly, Edythe was beside me, barely touching my elbow over the sleeve of my coat, and I felt enlivened enough to not fear taking a step. Even if that step was away from her, and the zing of her touch was broken once she set her hand back down. Somehow, without touching my skin, I'd been burned, and it felt like I was always on the precipice of feeling that agonizing sting flame up. A ghostly sensation, I could feel where Edythe was behind me, and yet, it was never enough and I had to pretend it was. Numb and raw, waiting for agony or pleasure that never came.

"T-thanks, Eedee," the word slipped out of me, unconsciously, and once it was out I flushed from embarrassment. Only Alice had called her Eedee, but that wasn't what bothered me. It was such a stupid pet name – what if she hated that I called her that? "Err, Edythe."

Edythe chuckled mischievously, her tones warm and melting. "No problem."

Not looking back, because I knew if I did that Mike might notice, I turned my head to lock my gaze forward. Mike was watching me with a peculiar expression, studying me like I'd turned green, and I didn't know what it was until we were outside and Edythe had ventured the opposite direction.

"So, new coat, huh?"

Glancing down, smelling it as subtly as possible, I nodded. "Yeah, what do you think?"

He shrugged, uncomfortably. "Erm, I don't like it."

Moving slower, irritation stalled me from going my usual pace. "What's wrong with it?"

He shrugged uncomfortably again. "I don't know, I feel like you're the Cullen's pet, now. Like you're losing yourself."

His words greatly offended me, and I scowled as I one hand in a fist against my collarbone. Holding my backpack on me a little harsher than I needed to. "I really like this coat, Mike."

He awkwardly shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "I'm sorry, it's just weird. Edythe wore that coat a lot last year. It's strange to see it on you."

Why would any guy care about what a girl wore? Clearly this couldn't be about the coat, could it?

"She gave me a bunch of stuff she didn't want anymore," I stuttered, angry, and my voice blubbered out messily. "I'm sorry if them sitting with us at lunch is weird for you. By all means, we can just sit at another table."

"That isn't what I meant-" Mike began.

Trying to storm past Mike to Gym, not wanting to continue this conversation anymore, unfortunately my foot rolled over a hidden pebble. Stumbling and scratching my still-healing hands to catch my fall, Mike was there in a frantic rush.

"Bella!" Mike had his hand on my shoulder, trying to be reassuring as he looked over my gravel-covered hands. "Here, let me help you –"

"I'm alright," I insisted moodily, carefully standing back up from the ground to wipe my palms with my pointer and middle fingers. Even after I stopped wobbling,

Mike kept touching my shoulder. "Are you sure?"

Feeling a bit woozy, for unpleasant reasons, I sighed and held my stinging hands together. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'll see you in Gym."

Glancing up at Mike's face, he looked like a puppy who had been told 'No' for the first time. Ears down and mouth curled in a downward half moon. "I'm sorry, Bella."

Awkwardly trying not to smile or grimace, I was sure my mouth made a funny shape in a poor attempt to reassure him. "Not your fault I trip over leaves."

He cleared his throat. "No, I mean...about the coat, and stuff. I'm glad you have new friends, I just, I don't know...sometimes, they look at you funny."

Considering whether to go to the nurse's office or straight to gym, watching my palms to see if they would bleed or not, Mike's words took a moment to gain my full focus. When they did, I looked up dizzily. "What do you mean?"

He grimaced uncomfortably. "Funny, like…" Mike struggled to word himself. "I can't really put my finger on it. Edythe looks at you like you're something to eat? It's weird, how she stares at you. I don't want you hurt."

Unsettled, fear rushing through me, when he amended his words a bubbled laugh broke and gagged me before I could exhale the chuckle. "Really, Mike, they're just not used to making friends."

"I guess."

Swallowing, I glanced toward the main office before I turned back to Mike. "...Is there something else that's bothering you?"

Mike glanced around us, as though worried of being eavesdropped. "Yeah."

"What's wrong?"

He wet his lips and swallowed, looking both ways before he spoke. "Just...don't forget you have other friends?"

It took pinching my fingernail against my reopened palm scrapes to not chuckle at his statement.

"I won't, and I appreciate your concern, Mike, but everything's fine," I tried to reassure, but it was a lame excuse. "I better have nurse Brenda look at my hands real quick. See you in a few minutes."

He groaned, and I could tell he was struggling to hold back from asking to escort me. "Sure," he finally elected not to impose himself. "See you in a bit."

Twenty minutes later, dressed in my Gym clothes with cleaned scrapes, I joined my classmates for a game of badminton. Mike saw me, insisting on saving a spot for me on his team, which I appreciated – even though the rest of our team audibly groaned. Somehow, and I'm not entirely sure how it happened, I hit myself with the racket -and- managed to clip Mike's shoulder in the same swing. Spending the rest of the hour in the back of the auditorium, handicapped by myself, I tried not to think about what Mike had said. Could the Cullens be using me? Would they leave me out to dry when they grew bored with me? I'd never had a lasting friendship that went from one school to another school, having friends – much less the friendship I was starting to build with Alice – was unnatural for me.

In-between sending encouraging waves or thumbs up to my team when they did really well, my mind was restless. Would it be wiser not to get too attached to Edythe's family? Being eaten to death by accident – I was prepared for that mistake. Edythe not being able to handle the shame if our relationship was found out? I could handle that too, but the thought of losing any friendships I made nauseated me. Usually when break ups happen, everyone sides with their sibling. I wouldn't just lose Edythe – I'd lose all of them, so maybe it would be smarter not to try and be good friends with Alice and Jasper, or even Emmett.

Meeting Edythe's parents terrified me, but maybe I was overthinking things. What could our relationship be if we couldn't get married? If I was meeting her parents, didn't that mean that we were signing up for a lifetime commitment?

By the time I walked out of the gymnasium, my nerves had poisoned me. The idea of bumping into Rosalie again, her hateful glare still fresh in my mind, was enough incentive for me to decide not to go near the parking lot. However, as I carried my backpack out under the misty fog, Edythe was already waiting for me. Casually leaning against the side of the gym, looking as breathtaking as she always was. Tiptoeing to her side, my joy in seeing her outweighed what concerns had been vexing me.

"Hey," I breathed; my face alight with happiness.

"Hello," her answering smile was brilliantly dashing. "How was Gym?"

My face fell a bit. "Fine," I lied, terribly, and she caught me.

Her fingers moving to try and take my hand, she turned it around to look at the scrape over the heel of my palm with a soft sigh. "Really, now.." She shifted her focus slightly, glancing over my shoulder and narrowing her eyes.

Out of curiosity, I turned to see Mike's back as he walked away toward the parking lot. Turning my head back, her irritation had bloomed to mild disgust. "What is it?"

"Mike's getting on my nerves..."

"Why?" Swallowing, I turned from her to look at the tinier figure of Mike in the distance. "Were you...eavesdropping?"

She grumbled her mouth, far too perfectly, and scowled mildly in response. "You fell, I wanted to know if you were alright."

"I'm fine," I insisted, watching where I had last seen Mike before I glanced back at her. "What was on his mind, though?"

Edythe didn't immediately answer me, and when she did, there was something uncomfortable in her eyes. "He was watching us in Biology, he saw us holding hands, and he thinks I'm corrupting you."

Fear rushed through me in a fissure, but I tried to pretend it didn't by chuckling dryly. "Are you?" I teased.

Edythe grinned, devilishly, and it made me feel strange in all the weird places. "Most assuredly, but no more than you have corrupted me."

Flushing, I looked away from her wolfish eyes and clutched my backpack tighter – the pain in my palm stinging some composure back into my face.

"Hello, Bella!"

Alice's bell-like voice almost startled me from behind. I turned to see her and Jasper, who dipped his head courteously toward me. Relaxing instantly at the mutual warmth and gladness of the sweetest couple on the planet, my mouth hurt from the smile I returned.

"Alice, Jasper; Hey," I replied lamely, but the grin stayed stupidly on my face.

"Hello Alice," Edythe greeted with enthusiasm before she moved closer to Jasper and said something near his ear.

Unable to hear the soft-spoken exchange, mostly because Alice moved to carefully wrap her arms around me for a hug, I watched Jasper and Edythe look toward the parking lot. Alice's head was in the way, blocking my view. Returning the embrace, even though more than one hug in a day was weird for me, I slipped away and turned my head to look at the parking lot.

Rosalie was waiting near the green Jeep, and even though she was far away, I could feel she was glaring at us. A tangible aggression that I was grateful to be kept as far away as possible from. When I turned my head to stare, Alice looked as well.

She sighed cheerfully and set her hands on her hips. "You don't need to worry about her, Bella," she reassured me so warmly that I truly believed her. Wholeheartedly relieved, unaware of all the reasons why, I exhaled the weight off my chest. Reluctantly, I kept the few feet of distance between myself and Edythe, because there were still students flowing toward the parking lot.

"If you say so, Alice," I teased. Grinning a bit sheepishly when Alice raised up cutely on her tipsy toes and Jasper bent down to give her a kiss. Too happy for them to feel jealous that they could have that public display of affection, Alice seemed to dance happily on her heeled toes as Jasper turned his gaze toward me.

"Forgive me ladies, I best attend to my sister," Jasper said with his noble southern drawl, like warm whiskey flooding to my ears, before he turned and headed for the parking lot. It wasn't fair how gorgeous Jasper and Rosalie's blond hair was – sunshine in solid form. My eyes unconsciously watched Jasper's hair flow beside his ears as he walked.

Alice cleared her throat daintily, and I turned – distracted. "Yes?"

She smirked gleefully, and Edythe sighed softly in exasperation. "She wants to know if I've asked you yet."

My face paled over. "Um...well...technically."

Alice looked so excited that she might bounce out of her skin. "No more! No more – tell me everything in the car."

"Come, then," Edythe entreated as she moved.

Feeling the similar painless burn against my elbow, the gentle guiding of Edythe's touch against my elbow was enough incentive for me to start moving.

We were almost to the car when I saw her, staring at me with wrought pain-riddled eyes.

Jessica said nothing. Only shook her head slowly at me and walked deeper into the parking lot. A part of me wanted to demand Edythe tell me what Jessica had been thinking about; but, it seemed like such an invasion of privacy to have her mind be read more than once for no real reason. Glancing at Edythe, I felt safe. If Jessica suspected us in any way, she would tell me.

All the more reason to hurry to her silver Volvo and slide into the car. This time, however, I sat in the front seat and buckled up. Edythe moved beside me, already moving out of the parking lot. I wasn't aware that we had reached Charlie's house until she stopped the car, and I looked up with surprise.

We were parked behind my truck, and despite what warmth I felt for seeing the Beast cozily napping on the brick driveway, my weight overshadowing my mind was not dispelled.

"So," I began, staying where I was. "Do we have any reason for Jessica to know about us?"

Edythe gazed at me deeply, and her eyes subdued me in a conscious trance. "No," she reassured. "She's a bit jealous of you, but I think that shall mend in time."

"Jealous of me?"

Edythe chuckled. "Well, to be fair, you are 'friends' with two of the prettiest girls in school."

Reminded of Alice, I turned to look in the backseat to speak to her; but, she was gone. A half dozen black dress-store bags still glittered the floorboards, with Edythe's light beige hoodie still lazily resting on the back seat where I had tossed it.

I glanced back in shock. "Where's Alice?"

Edythe furrowed her eyebrows. "She went home in the Jeep, with the others."

Alone, with Edythe, my throat felt wet and dry all at once. "How come?"

She nibbled anxiously on her perfect lower lip. "I asked her to, so we could be alone..." She hesitated, her hands still holding the wheel of her car – which I noticed to be repaired. Either they fixed the steering wheel, or replaced it entirely. The hand imprints were gone. "To talk."

My heart sank. With two words, the hope that perhaps Edythe might press her lips to my own again waned under the weight of reality. 'To talk' generally equated to a 'negative' conversation. Perhaps she had thought about all the pressure she had demanded of me in class and felt the need to end our pseudo-relationship. The fear of such words already stabbed me, to the point where all I could reply with was a pathetic hum of sound.

"Oh."

Her icy hand reached over toward me. Soft, galvanic, tremors rushing through my flesh as her fingers barely touched the back of my hand. "Do you still wish to know why you can't be near us when we hunt?"

Relief un-clenched my lungs, and for a moment I could breathe – and gasped, unaware of how hard I had been holding my breath. "Yes," I wheezed.

Concerned confusion molded her expression as she studied me. "Is something the matter?"

Swallowing aggressively to try and dispel the lump in my throat, I nodded. "No – please explain."

She took a deep breath, staring at my face with worry flooding her eyes. Whether she bought my answer or not, she nodded softly and continued. "When we hunt, Bella...we...give ourselves over to our primal senses. Govern through our sense of smell, especially. If you are...anywhere near me, when I lose control that way...when any of us lose control that way...I…"

Her head turned away from me in shame, and I watched her brood through the windshield. Watching the tick rolling clouds that seemed to press down against the glass – almost within reach.

"I understand," I finally answered, even if what time had passed felt longer than it had been. My fingers quietly laced around her hand, sending ripples of sensation pleasurably through my arm as I watched her. "I won't...ask to be near you when you hunt. Although, if you -can- be videotaped...perhaps you -could- scare me senseless."

Trying to end on a joke, a rather witty one if I did say so myself, Edythe was not amused. Her eyes had turned, to watch down the street – through the dense fog – at something I couldn't see.

"Bella…I think you should go inside now," she whispered softly, her eyes never leaving that spot in the distance.

The thought of not being able to hold her hand any longer crushed me in ways I couldn't word, much less explain to myself. After everything we had gone through today, the past few days – even the past few months – I couldn't tear myself away. Only when she gently slid her hand away from my own, did I draw in a jagged breath and break my silence.

"Don't you...want to come inside?"

Her head turned to me, eyes damp and sullen. "I can't tonight…" She began, and for some reason, it felt as though her eyes were drenched with guilt. "Rose and I need to talk about this morning...and if I go inside with you, I doubt I shall muster the strength to do it."

I wasn't sure what hurt me most – that Edythe was leaving, or that she was leaving to go talk to Rosalie. For reasons inexplicable to me, Rose seemed to loathe me or us completely. I'd seen the expressions that resembled hatred before, and while Rose's face seemed to convey a disgust – it didn't feel like that was the reason for her indescribable hatred. Her eyes haunted and eluded me, but none so soul crushing as the hurt that presently clung to Edythe's face.

"What are you going to talk about?" I had to ask, even if her answer destroyed me.

Edythe looked away, to the floorboard, unconsciously twiddling her fingers over the dashboard as if it could help her come up with an excuse of what to say. "Tis simply a disagreement," she began, avoiding my eyes when she spoke. "She is not...thrilled, at our relationship… She doesn't understand what we have…"

Edythe had already mentioned that before, and as this morning, I felt there was something she wasn't telling me. Perhaps it was something Edythe wasn't ready to share, or she wished to spare me the pain of how badly Rosalie thought about our relationship. Regardless of the reason, it sounded important, and I relented.

"Will you be at school tomorrow?"

Edythe turned to me, a tomboyish smirk sprawling over her face. "Why? Will you miss me?"

"Oh; you-" I irritably spat.

Infuriated by her teasing me, even if my anger was playfully sparked, I exhaled quickly and unbuckled my seat belt. Fluidly trying to lean toward her with as much grace as my clumsiness allowed, her eyes welled up with panic and her fingertips stayed my lips again.

We weren't at school – why didn't she want to kiss me?

Her fingers sank, morosely, when I stopped moving. Sadness in her eyes as her glistening gaze penetrated me. "I must go...I'll see you tomorrow..."

With that, she raised my hand and carefully pecked the back of it. My skin felt hot, despite her mouth being devoid of warmth, as she slipped her hands away from my own.

Opening the car door, I slipped out of the car. Taking my book-bag and the light beige hoodie which I had at some point unconsciously grabbed from the back seat, the car door closed behind me. My free hand wilting into the dying flower posture it had begun to contort to whenever I felt her overwhelming absence.

We weakly waved at each other, unable to look away for the longest irreparable moment, and then she was gone. The car speeding down the street and disappearing around the corner before I could even collect my thoughts. A weak smile sprawled over my lips as I ventured toward the house. She was planning to see me tomorrow, and that enough was enough fuel to keep me burning for the remainder of the evening.

That night I couldn't sleep. Edythe riveted my dreams as usual, however the climate of my unconscious mind had changed. Too restless, exhilarated. The same spine-tingling shivers that overwhelmed me whenever Edythe and I managed to touch consumed me from entering a deep and blissful sleep. Desire was something you read of, daydreamed, or watched movies about. I couldn't remember ever feeling it before. Agonizing over the amour of Romeo and Juliet or other prominent literary figures was nothing compared to this ache, this burn, which rushed through me.

Tossing and turning, pretending that my soft pillow was Edythe's lips, I foolishly kissed the fabric. Practicing the way I'd seen movie kisses, how lips enveloped each other so artfully and submerged within each other. Was it possible for one's whole soul to be sucked out through such a kiss? It certainly felt like it, as though everything about myself was awake and alive – my soul intertwined with hers. The pillow wouldn't do, but it was the only thing I could do to try and satisfy this yearning.

In my mind, eyes closed in the darkness under my pillow, there was safety to drink in what I wanted. Safe, alone, my hand held the pillow softly against my head as though my fingers were entangled through her glistening bronze hair. She was so soft to the touch, even knowing she could stop a car or crush my hand if she lost control didn't erase how badly I wanted to kiss her. To be completely wrapped up in her arms – legs trapping her lithe, lanky, athletic body against me. This beautiful girl who dressed like a boy, who for a moment I wished was a boy, because then we could kiss and touch, and…

My fingers had trailed underneath my sleep-shirt, and in shock of what I might have done if left unchecked, I slid my hand back out from under the fabric. Punishing my fingers to join my other hand underneath my pillow in shame of myself. I had never been a creature of lust before, a slave to urges I felt, and it made little to no sense that I could be so wrapped up to have wanted to try exploring myself. Embarrassed – even though no one was in my room to know what I had almost done – I buried my face into my pillow for an entirely different reason than kisses.

I wanted so desperately for one of us to be male, not because Edythe didn't inflame me as she was – but because...I needed so badly to hold her. Kiss her…someday make love to her. How did two women even make love? Could fingers or kisses compete with not being able to conventionally have sex? Did it cheapen lovemaking to never have full penetration? These questions haunted me, terrified me, more than they probably should. Tortured by images of what it might be like to be a boy between her legs, or swept up the other way around, my body felt so raw and trembling that I convinced myself I was sick and this was the result of a maddening fever.

In a stiflingly hot, sweat from how badly I tossed and turned to not think escape my desire – sleep escaped me. It was only in the early hours of the morning that I finally sank into an exhausted, dreamless, sleep.

When I woke, my whole body felt woozy and on edge, and I sat up breathlessly, only to gasp quietly in shock.

The black paper bags I had forgotten in the back seat of Edythe's Volvo were resting comfortably on my desk. Some of the contents unpacked and laid over my rocking chair – a brown thermal sweater and dark blue, de-saturated, jeans.

Edythe's shark-tooth chord-necklace was draped over the post at the foot of my bed.

Crawling, too stunned to speak, I messily fought my quilt out of the way to grasp the necklace and raise it over my palm. She had been here – she had been in my room. How much of last night had she seen? Did she only just drop it by?

My eyes darted to the window, which was closed; but, unlocked. Fear and shame consumed me as I sat there – terrified and humiliated that she might have seen me kissing my pillow, or trying to resist touching myself.

"E-Edythe?" I called out, but there was no answer.

Standing up to look out the window, despite there being fog making my vision cloudy, her car wasn't in front of my house, and the police cruiser was still in the driveway. I had woken up far too early, and now I was too alert to go back to sleep.

Showering coldly and wearing the outfit that had been laid out for me to try on, eventually I came downstairs for breakfast. About to grab a bowl for cereal, my fingers unconsciously toying with the tooth prickling gently against my skin, I paused when I saw Charlie glance at me.

"I made you some eggs, if you want 'em," he offered, and I looked on the stove to see two fried eggs cooling on a skillet. Drifting my free hand away from the cupboard knob, I nodded and sent Charlie a tired smile.

"Sure, thanks Dad."

Sitting down at he table, peppering my eggs, for a moment I thought that maybe he had completely forgotten about this Saturday. Chewing on my first bite of egg as neatly as I could, he answered my unspoken concern as he stood to take his plate to the sink.

"So, about this Saturday..." He began, walking across the kitchen and turning on the faucet.

My mouth curled into a cringe. "Yeah?"

"Are you still set on going to Seattle?" He asked.

"That's the plan," I grimaced, wishing he hadn't brought it up so I wouldn't have to compose careful half-truths.

He sighed softly; squeezing dish soap onto his plate and swirling it around with the scrubber brush. "And you're sure you can't make it back in time for the dance?"

Intentionally eating to stall for time, I chewed slowly and tried not to glare in annoyance. "I'm not going to the dance, Dad."

"Didn't anyone ask you?" He asked, trying to hide his concern by focusing on rinsing his plate.

I sidestepped the minefield as best I could. "Yeah, but it's a girl's choice dance."

"So there's no one you want to go with?" He frowned at me as he dried his plate.

Finishing my breakfast, I sympathized with him. It must be a hard thing to be a father, living in fear that your daughter would meet a boy she liked, and worrying if she didn't. How ghastly it would be for him, I thought with a shudder, if he had even the slightest inkling of who I really liked.

"I just don't enjoy dancing, Dad," I reassured with a chuckle.

Finally, he came out and said it. "Your mom really wants you to go..."

My face paled instantly, of course she would. "I'll go to the next one, Dad, I promise."

He grimaced and scratched his chin after drying his hands. "Well, give Renee a call, soon…she's been asking me to remind you to call her."

Standing up to wash my plate, Charlie patted my shoulder in an awkward goodbye, and I went upstairs to brush my teeth and gather my books. When I heard the cruiser pull away, I could only wait a few seconds before I rushed to peek out of my bedroom window. The silver Volvo was already there – waiting in Charlie's spot on the driveway. Bounding down the stairs and out the front door, my happiness to see her outweighed my fear of what she had seen. Not even bothering to lock the deadbolt, I hurried to her car and looked with some disappointment at the face in the driver's seat.

"Oh. Hi Alice. How are you?"

"She's in the backseat," Alice teased with a chuckle, and my heart leapt in my chest when I saw Edythe tilt slightly and wave to reveal herself. She was smiling, relaxed, perfectly beautiful to an excruciating degree.

Before I could draw breath my hands were fumbling to open the backseat door, and Edythe chuckled as she leaned over to pop it open. My butterfingers tugged the door wide, my face flushed with enthusiasm, and I hoped that this routine of seeing her every morning might never end.

"Good morning," Edythe's silky voice rippled through me, making me shiver. "How are you, today?" Her eyes roamed over my face, as if her question was something more than simple courtesy. The likelihood of her having seen me kissing my pillow rushed back to me like a rogue wave, and I wet my lips.

"G-Good, thanks." After all, I was much better than good whenever I was near her.

Her gaze lingered on the circles under my eyes. "You seem tired."

Desperate to avoid answering that question, I turned and faced the driver's seat. "So, why are you driving, today, Alice?"

Her eyes mischievously glinted at me in the rear view mirror. "Edythe lost at chess."

"Alice cheated."

The flicks of hair dancing from the driver's seat were as comically radiant as her laughter. "Oh, please, you were 'distracted'. I won fair and square."

Covering my face with my hair, I could barely see Edythe, but it looked as though she was sending her sister another of her burning warning looks. "Alice..."

She smirked with pride, clearly excited for her victory, which I presumed was chess related until she spoke. "You look nice today, Bella."

I flushed. "Thanks...this outfit was left out for me."

Uncertain who left it out – if it was Alice or Edythe – I looked fast between them both. Alice didn't look surprised; but, Edythe looked almost bashful as she fumbled with twiddling her artist's fingers. Deducing it was Edythe, I reached out to touch her hand – but she moved her hands away. Alice was clearly taking the scenic route to school, using roads I hadn't used before, not that I minded having a little more time in the car.

"So...you were in my room last night?"

Alice was eerily silent. Edythe shamefully nodded. "We forgot to unload the car yesterday, so I brought them in early this morning...I didn't stay very long," she stammered, only then reaching out to carefully touch the back of my hand.

Her cold fingers sent that rush of shivers through me again. Trembling, the pair of us, I held her hand from the top – hoping that way she wouldn't worry about accidentally crushing my hand. Not able to handle the answer on if she saw me last night, especially with Alice in the car, I changed the subject.

"Well, this shirt is really nice, Alice, thank you. I'm really fond of brown. It's one of my favorite colors," it also matched my purple coat, which I'd thrown on via autopilot in my rush to get to the car.

"It is?" Edythe asked beside me.

"Sure. Brown is warm, I miss brown. Everything that's supposed to be brown – tree trunks, rocks, dirt – it's all covered up with squishy green stuff here," I playfully complained.

Edythe seemed to be fascinated by my little rant. She considered for a moment as she gazed deeply into my eyes. In the back of my mind, I noticed that Alice turned on some low-volume music to give us some privacy, but I was too distracted by those beautiful eyes and soft fingers to notice.

"I agree," she decided, her face almost serious as her mouth curled into a sly half-grin. "Brown is very warm," she mentioned as she reached over with her free hand, hesitantly sweeping the veil of my hair behind my ear.

"What music is in your CD player right now, Bella? Do you listen to CDs often?"

Realizing I left out my CD player on my desk last night, foolishly trying to listen to music while I was studying for Trig, I shook my head playfully. "Soundgarden, Phil got me a couple CDs for my last birthday."

"Any particular song you fancy most?" She asked as she leaned forward, hand slipping from my fingers to open a compartment between the front seats. Tugging out a CD case with a half dozen discs inside clear sleeves, she flipped to the third page and pointed to the clearly labeled Soundgarden CD which matched the one I had in my player.

"Black Hole Sun," I mumbled, her fingers trailing back under my hand on the space between us as she showed me her whole collection. Going over each album in detail of when she first heard the band, why she liked certain songs – I was enraptured the entire time, barely answering as I watched her eyes glisten with light from the details of her stories.

"I saw Soundgarden play in Seattle, they played 'Heretic', and I found myself struck by the mixture of rhythm and screaming," she half teased, mouth curled into a wry drawl that left my knees numb. "Grunge isn't my favorite genre, by any means, but it is fascinating how much music can change. I truly love the eighties, as far as decades go. It was such an awakening of sound, each note joyous and melancholic."

"I enjoy lyrics." My mouth curled sheepishly, unable to compete with decades of knowledge. "Some songs soak them in, drench words with life."

She smirked playfully at me. "What of music without lyrics? Are they devoid of life?"

"No, not always, they just aren't set in stone. Songs without lyrics could be about anything the listener wants them to be," I mentioned with a light grin, toying my fingers along the back of her hand in thoughtful circles. Absorbing everything I could of her chill, soft, skin.

She hummed thoughtfully, watching my eyes with their usual curious scrutiny. "Then, a song without words holds more meaning?" There seemed to be deeper meaning in her question, but for the life of me I couldn't interpret what it was.

"No, not exactly...I think songs without lyrics have more potential for multiple meanings, though," I corrected, stammering slightly from the held eye-contact she gave me. "The classical tune, 'flight of the bumblebee' doesn't have any lyrics but its easy to imagine a bumblebee flying around...the title gives the listener a limitation to imagine what the subject could be."

"In the same manner as the Moonlit Sonata and Clair de Lune encourage the listener to picture moonlight?"

"Yeah," my mouth lopsidedly smiled. I felt like an idiot, trying to give my two cents on a subject I knew next to nothing about in comparison.

"What are your thoughts of personal compositions, then?" She asked, her gaze traveling to our hands, watching how my fingers still absentmindedly caressed circles around her knuckle.

My eyes took in the subtle shades of lavender in her skin while I thought about it. "Well, that's where the true mystery is. A composer writes a song, full of meaning, that others can only partially understand."

She chuckled, moving her free hand to try and comb stray locks of hair behind my ear. "I see," she hummed warmly to me as her free hand fell back to her side.

We were at school now, and she remained turned to me as Alice pulled into their usual parking space.

"Alright, Bella, Eedee, I've given you both all the time we could steal. Let's go lovebirds."

My mind flaring to Turkeys as soon as Alice said 'birds', my face burned and I laughed. Covering my face with both hands as Edythe put her leather CD case away.

"What is so funny?" Alice wondered, her fairy voice bubbling as she turned to look at me.

"Nothing," I lied. "Just, you said 'birds'."

Alice sighed softly as soon as 'birds' was mentioned, and I turned to see Edythe restraining laughter with a fist covering her mouth. "Eedee is not -that- funny."

"N-no, I just..." Glancing from Edythe to Alice's wholly curious face, the smile stung my jawbone. "Edythe told me you hunted turkeys..."

Alice scoffed with laughter, huffing air out of her nose in a surprisingly ladylike manner. "That was a one time thing – our house was hosting a thanksgiving party for the needy."

"Store bought birds would have been fine," Edythe countered.

Before I could unbuckle my seat-belt, Jasper was calmly walking up to the car and wrapping an arm around Alice's tiny waist. "Good morning, Ma'am."

Alice puffed up – her fairy hair fluffing about angelically as she got out of the car. "Store-bought would have been too small."

Jasper bemusedly curled his mouth in a drawl as he overheard Alice's comment. "Ah, we are discussing the Fall Fest fiasco. Twas only a matter of time..."

Cheerful as he was to be near Alice, when I opened the car door to step out, Jasper looked like he was in pain and stepped away from me. He was already walking away from Alice toward campus before I had closed the door.

Confused, I glanced at Alice, and she relented. "Jasper...has not been accustomed to our diet as long as the rest of us have," she whispered, before linking her arm with mine and carefully heading away from the Volvo. Keys tossed to Edythe as we walked.

"Oh," I lamely mumbled. Gazing mournfully behind me, until I saw Edythe walking after us to make up the distance.

"Enough about birds," Alice began. "So I was thinking..."

"A dangerous hobby," Edythe teased.

Alice glared warmly before she spoke. "I was thinking...that while the four of us are at the Spring Dance, it shall be the perfect time to meet Carlisle and Esme...if your heart isn't wholly set on going to Seattle on Saturday..."

It had been; but, Alice did have an irrefutable logic to her suggestion. Meeting her parents was going to be difficult enough, much less if the others were there. Crowds made me uncomfortable, and not having Rose glaring at us was certainly the selling point.

Glancing at Edythe, she gently nodded. "We can still drive to Seattle on Sunday, if you prefer."

Releasing my arm from being linked with Alice's own, I paused to consider. Trying to concentrate while I felt claustrophobic was next to impossible.

"Sure, if it's okay with them."

Alice grinned cheerfully, dancing on the balls of her feet without moving. "Wonderful! I'll see you at lunch!" The shorter pixie departed then, muttering under her breath about turkeys with a heavy sigh.

Left alone with Edythe, I turned to gaze at her face, and she slid her hands into her pockets. "So, tell me about Arizona. What do you miss the most about your home?"

I unconsciously walked along the covered concrete path as I considered my answer. "Hmm, I love the smell of creosote, it's...bitter, slightly resinous, but still pleasant. Cicadas used to be really annoying, and now I really miss the high, keening, sound from the trees in July. All the trees are feather and barren, the sky is ginormous – white and blue from horizon to horizon. The purple-red of volcanic rock on the mountains."

I felt like I was crazy trying to describe these things – here in this sea of lush green – but even so, I tried to do the impossible in explaining why I loved it there so much. "I guess I love how raw the landscape is – it doesn't need to be covered with mush to be beautiful. The bare, untarnished, bones of the earth just hold onto the sun. The ground glistens."

She smiled at me as I used my hands to try and describe the craggy hills, something mischievous in her eye that I didn't understand at the time. "So you love gemstones?"

Unable to deny it, even though I wasn't exactly a 'girly' girl, I nodded shyly. "Sure."

"What is your favorite?"

It was embarrassing to me, to consider my answer. Garnet had always been my favorite – it's rich and deep reddish tones that were more understated than Rubies. But lately, as I looked into Edythe's golden eyes, the answer shot forth from me so fast I found myself feeling childish.

"Topaz."

She playfully scoffed in disbelief. "Topaz? Pray, whatever for."

Biting down on my lip, I looked to see if anyone was around us before I answered her. "It's...the color of your eyes...I think if you asked me in a week or two, I'd have said onyx."

Despite the pale color remaining its usual hue, Edythe looked as though she was flushing for once. "Oh…that's quite a compliment," she mentioned, reaching one hand from her pocket to try and subtly scratch at her cheekbone, perhaps to distract me from watching her eyes for a moment. Or take her eyes away from my own.

"Before we met, I loved garnets," I confessed, in the hope of saving each other from the pinching butterflies fluttering in all directions inside my stomach.

"Is that your birthstone?" She asked, and I found myself wondering if I had ever told her my birthday before.

"No...sapphires. My birthday is September thirteenth. My mom loves Sapphires a lot more than I do," I paused to wet my lips, not sure how we walked to the other end of the high school, but, we turned to start walking the other way around. "When is your birthday?"

She looked uncomfortable, her hand slipping back into her pocket as she answered me. "June twentieth."

Noting she didn't say the year, I guessed it was because we were at school. "Do you like your birthstone?" I felt stupid asking the question, and maybe she sensed it, because she chuckled at me.

"I fancy it fine," she mentioned, looking around to see if we were in earshot of anyone before she continued further. "I still have much of the jewelry my mother wore before she died. I...can't remember if the pearl necklace she left me was worn because of me, though."

Pearls made my mind jump instantly to Alice, and looking about, not seeing her nearby, I stopped walking to try and ask. "Edythe..."

She stopped as well, tilting her head at me in such a way that the misty breeze stirred her hair to trail around her face. "Yes?"

I wet my lips, anxiously. "Why doesn't Alice wear pearls?"

Her eyes swallowed me, and she exhaled a deep sigh before she spoke. "Tis hardly my place to say..."

I knew it wasn't, but I still had to know. "I know, but the last thing I want to do is say something foolish, or bring up something painful for her."

Edythe nodded, concerned as her eyes fell to the distance. "Alice can't remember very much of her life, what little she has are from records of a medical journal that she stumbled upon after she was remade. A psychiatrist was intrigued by her, and he had several months of data and conversational notes in his diary. It can't replace what she lost, but, from what she's read – her father was a jeweler, specifically a skilled pearl merchant, who committed her to an asylum. Casting her off to society as dead, because her visions revealed that he had killed her mother."

Her words struck me silent, and I began to unconsciously look out between the buildings to try and spy Alice and Jasper. If they were in the distance, I couldn't see them, but Edythe kept looking at the same point far in the distance, so I guessed perhaps she saw them.

"Alice prefers not to dwell upon how unloved she was by her family. Especially now, as she has us, and Jasper. A new best friend in you, I hope?"

Edythe's words instilled a comfort in me, but, just as I was about to answer the obnoxious school bell rang. It was time to start heading to class.

"I'd like that," I commented, walking with her until our paths forked, and she waved casually in farewell to me.

Watching her until she was gone, I vanished into my English class.

It continued like that for much of the day. When she met me after Spanish, all through the lunch hour, Edythe questioned me relentlessly about every insignificant detail of my existence. All the movies I'd liked or hated, the few places I had traveled to and where I still wished to go. She also asked me about books – endlessly books. All through lunch was devoted to books I had read and devoured.

"Have you read Jane Austen?" I asked, stabbing my fork into a chef's salad.

"Verily, she's one of my favorite authors, along with Charlotte Bronte," She mentioned. "My favorite is Persuasion," she mentioned.

I bashfully finished chewing. Perplexed by the idea that she had chosen the most depressing of Jane Austen stories as her favorite. "Why Persuasion?"

She pretended to toy with a salad in front of her, shifting it around with a plastic fork. "Perhaps, because it represents second chances." She paused, shifting a cherry tomato from one side of her Chef's salad to the other side of the bowl. "The last novel Austen wrote was about a woman who had been persuaded not to marry someone she loved, and in the end of the book is given a second chance at happiness."

Unable to resist, I asked. "Do you think you deserve a second chance?"

She uncomfortably smirked at me. "One has to have first been in love to have a second chance. But, let us hypothesize for a moment...that had a person told me ahead of time that I would feel this way for...someone," – she looked at me, not that I needed the reassurance of her gaze to know I was the only one she meant – "I wouldn't have believed them. Dare I say it, I may even have been insulted."

Her mouth hardened into a flat line, her left hand fist tightening up into a ball, and I realized for a second she was looking over at her family's table. Just as I tried to see which family member she was gazing at, she turned her head. Guessing Alice, who could see the future, I wonder if it was her I had to thank for Edythe trying to get to know me in the first place.

"I don't blame you…I probably wouldn't have believed it either," I confessed, pausing to finish my salad.

"At any rate, we are 'friends' now, regardless of the hypocrisy of my past."

The word 'friends' haunted me, I could hear it used a thousand times and still be thrown off by the use of it. Unable to think of something to say while surrounded by the throngs of other students dining at nearby tables, we spoke further on other books I loved.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd talked so much in one day. More often than not, I felt self-conscious – certain that I must at some point have become boring to her. However, the absolute absorption of her face on mine, and her never-ending stream of questions, compelled me to continue. For the most part, her questions were easy, with only a few of them triggering my easy blushes. However, whenever I did finish, it brought on a whole new round of questions. About my favorite flowers, colors, animals, the list went on and on.

The hardest portion of the school day was being in the near-darkness with Edythe again. To finish the educational film Mr. Banner had assigned to us. The entire hour, I inwardly tossed and turned as I had the previous night. Yearning with everything within me to reach under the table and take her cold hand in my own; but, she had mentioned that Mike had noticed us. It would be unwise to hold her hand now, when we had a scrutinizing audience. That hour tortured me, tortured us both, and when the lights flashed on – both of our hands were squeezed into tight fists over the surface of our desk. Struggling to watch the presentation, this time, I had enough knowledge to base a weak report around, and inwardly groaned from how hard it was to remember any details as soon as I took in her eyes gazing back at mine.

Jessica spent the whole day, if not ignoring me, than too distracted on other things to talk to me. As soon as Gym was over, she flocked to Mike's side and walked off toward the parking lot with him, Tyler, and Lauren. A part of me was grateful that she wasn't chewing my ear off with nonsensical chatter; but, the other knew it was only because I'd made her feel unimportant as a friend, and I wasn't sure how to heal the distance. Only to respect her silent request for distance for a day or two, and maybe she'd get over what I'd said.

Sometimes she turned her head to look at me, and I waved as friendly as I could, only for her to turn back around and keep walking.

Which is where I was when Alice found me waiting in the usual spot by the cafeteria/gymnasium.

"Hello, Bella! How was your day?"

Jasper had his arm wrapped gently around Alice's tiny waist, and for a moment I found myself disheartened at the sight of it. What disappointment I had, again, flooded away to be replaced with an eagerness to see my new friend.

"Hey, Alice, Jasper," I replied warmly, not stopping Alice when she moved from Jasper's arm. Carefully holding in her breath to softly hug me, before she rushed back to Jasper's side as though relieved she was getting the hang of hugging someone as delicate as me.

"Good afternoon," Jasper courteously beamed, making a solid effort not to look like he was in so much pain, even though – based on the tightness of his eyes – he certainly was.

Edythe joined us then, drifting to my side like a magnet with her hands cautiously kept in her tomboyish jeans. "Guys, can you not smother, Bella, please," She teased.

Alice playfully scoffed. "I barely hugged her," she insisted. Jasper playfully shook his head, and the look of playfulness that Edythe and Jasper shared was so warm and brotherly that I couldn't help but grin.

Alice saw it, and she playfully bat Jasper's arm. "You're no help."

"I'm sorry, ma'am," He teased as his arm eased back around Alice's waist.

For a mere moment, just long enough to feel fingertips gently prickling against my lower back, Edythe moved her arm around my waist. My desire to have that simple reassuring caress ached within me so strongly, that when she lowered her hand and we started to walk to the car, my back still felt numb from where her cold fingers had touched.

Alice was already chattering a mile a minute, about the spring dance of all things. "You shall have to arrive early on Saturday, so you can see my dress once it's finished."

Pretending to feel more enthusiasm than I felt about clothes, an awkward smile curled my mouth. "Sure, sounds great."

"Only if you promise not to make Bella try on dresses with you," Edythe coyly warned.

Alice sighed. "If Bella wants to try on dresses, she is within her rights to, but I already resized the perfect dress for her to wear with Carlisle and Esme. She doesn't have any reason to try on more."

Swallowing uncomfortably, I walked a little slower toward the Volvo. Alice really was planning all my outfits, and it made me feel so very uncomfortable that Edythe's words saved me from despair.

"Now, Alice, just because she is fond of your taste, doesn't mean she always wants to wear what you pick out."

"Clearly," Alice mused, playfully gesturing to my outfit as we neared the silver Volvo.

I furrowed my eyebrows, a little surprised it wasn't Alice's idea for me to wear the brown thermal sweater today. Touching Edythe's shark-tooth choker that hung around my neck, my fingers toyed with the pendant as I thoughtfully pursed my brow. "Is there something wrong with how I look?"

Alice smiled coyly, now. "Not to Edythe," she teased, and Edythe uncomfortably flushed without turning red to playfully shove her sister into Jasper.

"That's it. You guys can go home in Emmett's Jeep tonight," Edythe insisted as her hand carefully touched the lower part of my back, as though to carefully guide me toward the passenger seat.

"We were already going to," Alice insisted, and I watched her and Jasper turn toward the large Jeep. Emmett and Rose were in the front seats, watching from behind misty plastic tarp windows. Emmett waved when he saw me look at him; but, Rose turned her head to look out the opposite window. I couldn't see her face, but, I could assume it wasn't pleasant.

"Mm hmm, sure you were," Edythe teased her sister before she unlocked her car and slid gracefully into the driver's seat. Leaning over to open my door when I didn't immediately get into the car, I looked away from the Jeep like a startled deer and hopped into the other front seat. Closing the door, both exhilarated and terrified to be alone with Edythe, I buckled up and kept my bag in my hands. She was already backing out of the parking spot, and with it, her eyes flicked back to me. Initiating the return of her thousands of psycho-analyzing questions.

"Does your mother love flowers?" She asked me curiously, and I began to answer as the window wipers chased away the curtain of rain sliding down from the sky.

At ease, and able to partially forget how badly I yearned for her – to kiss her, hold her, touch her the way I wished I could – her quiet probing questions kept me talking freely. Forgetting, in the dim light of the storm, to be embarrassed for monopolizing the conversation. Edythe drove with the fluid artistry that I was growing exceedingly comfortable toward – so long as she didn't overtly speed on the freeway. When we reached my house, she parked in Charlie's spot beside the Beast and kept the heat running for me.

My heart rushed thinking about what could happen if we both went inside my house together – but I was too afraid to ask, and she didn't ask me either. Maybe she was thinking the same thing as I did, maybe she didn't know how to breach the distance, or…maybe she didn't feel the same desires I felt.

"I think we're going to run out of things to talk about, soon," I finally teased, when the conversation awkwardly paused. Having finished describing in explicit detail almost every object or knickknack in my room at this point, there was nothing left but for one of us to make a move. I hoped she would be the one to initiate it, and I even tried to lean in once or twice hoping she would get the hint and kiss me; but, she only leaned further away from me.

Perhaps the third time was the charm, and with uneven breath shaking from my quivering lips, I scooted a little bit over the edge of my seat. "So, a-are you finished with your thousand questions, yet?"

Pain flicked over her eyes, a strange sort of yearning and remorse as she studied my face too deeply. "No, but your father shall be home any minute now."

All thoughts of initiating a kiss, the deep kind of kiss I yearned for, died as soon as I thought of what could happen if Charlie caught us together. My face must have paled over, because she mildly chuckled at me.

"I wish I could stay..." she brought up, and her hand reached over to my own, to conservatively embrace around my fingers.

"I wish you could stay, too," I said – worried panic casting my eyes from her to the rain darkened sky. "What time is it?" I wondered how long we had, if I could bring myself to try and steal a little kiss before my father pulled up behind us. Glancing at the clock, the time surprised me – Charlie would be driving down the road any minute now.

"Tis twilight," Edythe murmured, looking out at the western horizon – obscured as it was with clouds. Her voice was thoughtfully probing, as if her mind was far away from me, in the car. I gazed at her, as she loomed her eyes unseeingly out the windshield.

"It's the safest time for us," she mentioned, answering the unspoken questions lingering in my eyes. "The easiest time for my kind to come out into the open...it's a troubling reality of being what I am, that I can only safely leave at the end of another day – the return of the night." She paused, to turn her head and gaze back into my eyes. "Darkness is so very predictable, don't you think?"

She smiled wistfully toward me, and my mouth unconsciously curled with hers. "I love the night. Without the darkness, we'd never see the stars," I mentioned, my smile molding into a frown. "Not that you can see any stars – here – of course.'

She laughed whole-heartedly, and the mood abruptly lightened from the morose gray which had overtaken the atmosphere. Her fingers experimentally tickled my hand, and I squeaked from surprise before she moved her other hand to hold my own captive in her palms.

"Charlie will be turning the corner soon...so unless you wish to tell him you'll be with me on Saturday..." she arched an eyebrow curiously at me.

My eyes anxiously widened. "No way. Not a good idea, at all," I said, wrapping my book-bag over my shoulder now. "Charlie won't..." Understand? Accept us? The dreadful list went on.

Her fingers slid away from my own, moving to rest on her lap. "Even so, it might be best he knows you're with me."

"Why?" I asked her, befuddled.

She avoided my gaze, her mouth morosely tugging into a softly closed line. "So I have...a reason, to bring you back."

The color left my face again, but only until she chuckled to break the tension. "I have more questions for you tomorrow, if that's alright."

"What more could you possibly want to know?" I lightly joked, even as my mind longed to over obsess about what her phrase had meant.

"You'll find out tomorrow," Edythe promised as she reached across to open the passenger door for me. Her sudden proximity sent my heard into hard, frenzied, palpitations. But, her hand suddenly froze on the handle.

"Oh no..." she muttered.

"W-what is it?" My eyes were torn between Edythe's beautiful bronze hair, her perfect scent, her eyes. She glanced at me for a brief second, and my eyes locked instantly upon her own.

"Another complication..." She mentioned, glumly.

Flinging the door open in one swift, gentle, movement, Edythe moved – almost cringed – in her rush to lean away from me again.

Panicked, the flash of headlights through the rain captured my attention as a dark car I didn't recognize pulled up to the curb just a few feet away. Facing our car with an almost menacing vibe.

I couldn't bear to move, to leave her, even as rain started to dampen my right arm.

"Charlie's around the corner, now," she whispered in warning; staring through the downpour to the other vehicle. "Please, I need to go."

"Will you be here tomorrow?" I pleaded, even without meaning to be.

"Yes, just hurry."

Hopping out at once, despite my confusion and curiosity, the rain was uncomfortably loud as it glazed over my purple jacket.

Attempting to make out the shapes in the front seat of the dark car, I squinted painfully, but the headlights were too blinding for me to see past the glare. Illuminated in the shine that kept the mystery from being solved, Edythe was staring straight ahead – her gaze locked on something or someone I couldn't see. Her expression a strange mixture of frustration and defiance. If I wasn't imagining things, she briefly huffed heated air from her nostrils like a wild bull.

Then she revved the engine, the tires squealing against the wet pavement, and the silver Volvo was out of my sight in mere seconds.

"Hey, Bella!" Called a familiar, husky, voice from the driver's side of the little black car.

"Jacob?" I asked, still trying to squint through the rain. It was then that Charlie's cruiser swung around the corner, his lights shining on the occupants of the car in front of me.

Jacob was already climbing out, his wide grin visible even through the shadows. In the passenger seat was a much older man, heavyset with a memorable face – a face that overflowed, the cheeks resting against his shoulders, with creases running through the russet skin like an old leather jacket. The surprisingly familiar, black, eyes that seemed at the same time to be both too young and too ancient for the broad face they were set in. Jacob's Father – Billy Black. I knew him immediately, though in the more than five years since I'd seem him last, I'd managed to forget his name when Charlie had spoken of him my first day here. He was staring at me, scrutinizing my face, so I smiled tentatively at him. His eyes were wide, as if in shock or fear, and his nostrils flared. My smile faded instantly.

Another complication, Edythe had said.

Billy still gazed upon me with intense, anxious, eyes, and I groaned internally. Had Billy recognized Edythe so easily? Could he truly believe the impossible legends his son had scoffed at?

The answer was abundantly clear, glaringly obvious, within Billy's black eyes.

Yes. Yes, he could…


	13. Chapter Twelve - Anticipation

_Made some subtle changes to this chapter, writing the scene between Jacob and Bella was rather amusing for me. Enjoy the read! I hope you like what I set in the middle._

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

* * *

"Billy!" Charlie exuberantly shouted as soon as he got out of the car. As he excitedly bounded toward the little black car, I turned toward the house, beckoning warmly to Jacob as I ducked under the porch. In the background, Charlie was greeting them loudly behind me.

"How on earth did you manage to get your hands on this toy-car, Billy?" He said disapprovingly, but I knew it was a playful tone.

"I have to get around somehow," the voice answering Charlie was too resonant for me to have fully forgotten. The sound of it made me feel suddenly younger, like I was just visiting for the summer again and Rachel and Rebecca were on their way over to play.

After I unlocked the door, I stepped inside the house and left the door open behind me. Turning on all the lights before I hung up my purple jacket. Once I was sure that the outside light was on, bright enough to lead the way, I leaned against the entrance of the front door. Watching anxiously as Charlie and Jacob helped Billy out of the car and into his wheelchair. Only when the three of them were almost at the door did I hurry inside to clear the path for them. They nearly barged in, shaking the rain off of them like dogs before the door closed behind them.

"This is certainly a surprise," Charlie mentioned cheerfully.

"It's been far too long," Billy answered. "I hope we're not here at a bad time, though," he mentioned. His dark eyes flashed instantly to me, their expression complex and unreadable.

"No, it's great! I hope you both can stay for the game," Charlie enthused.

Jacob grinned broadly. "That's the plan – our TV broke again last week."

Billy made a face at his son. "And of course, Jacob was -anxious- to see Bella again," he added, a champion to all dad's everywhere by embarrassing his son. Jacob scowled and ducked his head while I fought back a surge of remorse. Perhaps I'd been too convincing on the beach, and my flirting was -somehow- too much for men to resist. What a stupid thought, but the evidence pointed to the contrary. Desperate to change the subject, I glanced up at Jacob's eyes until he looked at me again.

"Are you guys hungry?" I asked, before turning toward the kitchen – only too eager to escape Billy's intrepid hawk eyes.

"Starved," Jacob said, and even though I couldn't see it, I could -feel- Billy Black casting his son a worrisome look for that blunt honesty.

"How about you, Dad?" I called over my shoulder as I fled around the corner into the sanctuary of the tiny kitchen.

"Sure, Bells," he replied, his voice moving in the direction of the front room – and the TV. I could hear the squeaking of Billy's wheelchair following him to the front. "Bella makes a mean Fried Fish, we might still have some leftover..."

He spoke so softly that I had to pause to overhear what Charlie was commenting about me. So anxious to be away from Billy, in case he told my father about my friendship with Edythe, I listened only until I realized he was talking about my cooking skills. Clearly I'd impressed him, and for a moment it made me smile.

"Oh? I wonder where she got -those- cooking skills, Charles," Billy faintly hummed with a laugh. "She didn't get em' from -you- that's for sure."

"Well, don't look at Renee either," Charlie commented, and at that point I stopped eavesdropping to look through the fridge and see what we had. Fish, lots and lots of fish. Could I stand to eat fish sticks again? Probably. Did I want to? Not particularly. But alas, Charlie had wet the palate, and now I felt inclined to do his praise some justice.

Slicing trout, which thankfully had already been cleaned, I was almost finished mixing the different seasonings with flour when I felt a presence behind me.

"So, how are things?" Jacob asked, his voice adorably hesitant.

I smiled, turning to look at him. "Pretty good," his enthusiasm was genuinely hard to resist warming up to. "How about you? Did you finish your car?"

"No," he frowned. "I still need parts for it. We borrowed that black one." He pointed with his thumb in the direction of the front yard.

"Sorry, I wouldn't know a part you needed from scrap metal if it was sitting right in front of me," I joked.

"Don't worry, I'm looking out for that master cylinder of my dreams," he grinned.

With a laugh I started mixing the spices together, and he awkwardly looked around. "So…"

I glanced up at him, still mixing. "Is something wrong with the truck?"

The suddenness of the question almost startled me. "No, Beastie's fine."

Whatever sly grin he had on his face at hearing the term 'Beastie' was diminished by whatever it was on his mind. "Oh, I just wondered because you weren't driving it.."

Walking to another counter for the carton of eggs, I started cracking them into a bowl, carefully tossing the eggshells in the trash. "My friend's been giving me a ride, sometimes. Helps me save on gas."

"It's a nice ride," Jacob approved with a grin. "I didn't recognize the driver, though. I thought I knew most of the kids around here."

Washing my hands, I walked with the bowl of stirred eggs toward where I set up the 'frying station' and started to dip the fish into the eggs. Dusting them with seasonings, and repeating the process until all the fish were in the frying pan. Intentionally stalling for time, hoping Jacob might change the subject. He didn't.

"My dad seemed to know her from somewhere."

"Jacob, could you hand me some plates? They're in that cupboard over the sink," I mentioned quietly.

"Sure," he started walking that way. "And call me Jake."

"Thanks, Jake," I said as I walked to the sink to wash my hands. Fetching a giant, clean, metal fork to hold until it was time to turn the fish over.

"So who was it?" Jake asked, setting the plates on the counter next to me. There was no use putting it off, either I told him – or his father would.

"Edythe Cullen, we have Biology together."

To my surprise, Jacob laughed, but as soon as I glanced up to look at him – his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Guess that explains it, then," he said with a chuckle. "I wondered why dad was acting so strange."

I chuckled with him, grinning and shaking my head to be reassuring. "He -really- doesn't like them, does he?"

"Superstitious old man," Jacob muttered playfully under his breath.

Trying my best to hide my concern, I focused on scooting the fish on the frying pan. The fish swerving in the fluid like bubbling dancers of water aerobics. "You don't think he's say anything to Charlie, do you?" I couldn't help from asking, and the words came out from my lips in a low rush of sound. Telling secrets on the beach again.

Jacob stared at me for the longest time, and I couldn't read the expression in his dark eyes. Eyes he clearly inherited from his father. His eyebrows pursed with some semblance of confusion before they dissolved and his face became unreadable again. "I doubt it," he said with a weak shrug. "Charlie chewed him out -really- good last time they talked about them. They haven't really spoken much since – tonight is sort of a reunion. I don't think he'd want to bring that up again."

"Oh," I mentioned – trying to sound indifferent instead of relieved.

Soon the fish were ready, and I paired it with canned green beans – not having expected guests tonight. Serving everyone up, passing the tartar sauce around, I stayed in the front room after everyone had a plate in front of them. Pretending to watch the game, which I knew nothing about, while Jacob chattered at me. In reality, I was trying to listen to Billy and Charlie's conversation, watching for -any sign- that Billy was going to rat me out, trying to think of ways to stop him if he began to.

It was a long and exhausting night, and I barely managed to eat while waiting for a bomb to drop. Tons of homework went undone; but, I was too afraid to leave Billy alone with Charlie to go fetch my book-bag. Finally, the game ended.

"Are you and your friends coming back to the beach soon?" Jacob asked me as he pushed his father's wheelchair over the lip of the threshold.

"I'm not sure," I hedged, sliding my hands into my jean pockets, and trying not to think about how Edythe always slid her hands in hers.

"Well, that was fun, Charlie!" Billy beamed.

"You should come up for the next game," Charlie encouraged, and I tried my best to smile with more enthusiasm than I felt at the prospect.

"Sure, sure," Billy replied. "We'll be here! Have a good night, Charlie." His eyes shifted to mine, and with my father turned away, Billy's smile disappeared. "You take care, too, Bella," he added far too seriously for me to ignore.

"Thanks," I muttered, trying to glance away...but I couldn't. Not until Billy and Jacob were out the door, and I couldn't see them any longer.

Desperate not to be alone with Charlie, I headed began to head for the stairs while he stood waving from the doorway.

"Wait, Bella."

I inwardly cringed, anxious to know if Billy had said something to Charlie before I'd joined them in the living room. However, Charlie was joyful and relaxed; still grinning from the unexpected visit.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to you tonight. How was your day?"

"Pretty good," I hesitated with one foot on the first stair, searching for the only details I could safely share. "My badminton team won all four games in PE."

"Wow, I didn't know you could play badminton."

Scowling, I shrugged gloomily. "Well, actually, I can't. But my partner is really good at it."

"Who is that?" Billy asked with token interest.

"Um, Mike Newton," I mentioned reluctantly. Trying desperately to say any truth I could that didn't involve Edythe.

"Oh right – you mentioned being friends with the Newton's boy. He's got a nice family," Billy mused for a minute. "Why didn't you ask -him- to the dance this weekend?"

"Dad!" I groaned, shaking my head with exhaustion. "He's dating my friend Jessica. Besides, I already told you I don't dance. Mom will just have to wait til the next one."

"Hrm. Yeah," he muttered, then smiled at me apologetically. "So I guess it's good you'll be gone Saturday...I've made plans to go fishing with some of the guys from the station. The weather's supposed to be real warm. But, if you wanted to put your trip off til someone could go with you, I'd stay home…I know I leave you here alone too much."

I scoffed as playfully as I could to reassure him. "Dad, you're doing a great job." I smiled, hoping my relief didn't show.

"I've never really minded being alone – I'm too much like my Dad in that way," I winked at him, and he smiled his crinkly-eyed smile.

Whether it was from relief or exhaustion, I slept better that night – too tired to dream again. When I woke to the pearl gray morning, my mood was positively blissful. The tense evening with Billy and Jacob seemed harmless enough, now, and I decided to forget it completely. I even found myself whistling while I pulled the front part of my hair back into a barrette, and later again as I skipped down the stairs. Wearing a black thermal shirt and the same dark pale-blue jeans as yesterday. Unfortunately, Charlie noticed.

"You're awfully cheerful this morning," he commented over breakfast.

I shrugged, chuckling as I filled my plate with the fried eggs and toast he'd left for me. "It's Friday."

My excuse seemed good enough for Charlie, he shrugged and said nothing more. I hurried so I could be ready to go the -second- Charlie left. My bag was ready, my shoes were on, teeth brushed with spearmint toothpaste; I was ready to go. Watching upstairs from my bedroom window, Charlie's police cruiser headed out the door, and as soon as he was out of sight – I was almost running down the stairs.

Not even prepared for the type of disappointment that would hit me if Edythe's silver Volvo didn't magically appear in the brick driveway, my heart leapt in my chest. I ran as fast as I could; but, Edythe was faster. She was waiting in her shiny car – windows down, engine off.

I didn't hesitate this time, climbing into the passenger seat as quickly as I could to see her face. She grinned her devastating crooked smile at me, and it felt like my heart and my breath had stopped. My mind couldn't fathom how even an Angel could appear to be any more glorious. There was nothing about her that I could imagine being improved upon.

A chuckle sounded behind me, and the familiar giggle of Alice made my face blush like a tomato. I turned around to look at her, and she was glancing at me over the rim of an open book. Some kind of novel with a brown paper book-cover that I couldn't read.

"H-Hey Alice." Good heavens, I squeaked.

"Good morning, Bella," she teased; her eyes playfully ludic.

"How did you sleep?" Edythe asked, and the moment I heard her voice – all thought of Alice teasing me ceased to be important. Did she have any idea how appealing her voice was to me?

"Fine," I replied bashfully. "H-How was your night?"

"Hmm. Pleasant." Her smile was amused – I felt like I was missing an inside joke.

"W-What did you do last night?"

Edythe grinned wickedly. "Not telling."

My mouth widened in surprise, but I couldn't bring myself to speak from all the blood rushing to my face.

"I still have questions to ask," she elaborated as she started the car, and I carefully buckled my seat-belt.

She wished to know about people today: Details about Renee, her hobbies, what we'd done in our free time together. She asked of the one grandmother I had known, my few school friends in Phoenix – embarrassing me by asking me if I'd ever had a crush on anyone else before. Even though I knew we must have talked about it before, she seemed to be as surprised as Jessica and Angela were by my lack of any romantic history.

"So you -truly- have never met anyone you wanted?" She asked me in a serious tone, one that made me wonder what she was thinking about.

With an altogether newly red face, I decided to be grudgingly honest. "No, not in Phoenix."

Her eyes sang at my answer; but, even as I could see her happiness, her lips pressed together into a hard line.

During our newfound routine of walking together between classes, talking about this and that, the time seemed to fly by. Each moment with her was never long enough, and I prayed that every moment we were apart would pass quickly so we could be reunited again.

Without fully feeling the full tedium of the day, we were now in the cafeteria. I took advantage of a brief pause in conversation to have a bite of my pizza slice.

"Oh dear," she began, suddenly, and I halted in biting off the cheesy pepperoni goodness to not miss whatever it was she planned on saying.

Clearly that was hilarious, and Edythe laughed once or twice before she shook her head at me. "Please, eat, before you choke."

I quickly swallowed – neglecting entirely to chew – and took a sip of water to help rid me of the residual burning lump.

"What is it?" I demanded, still swallowing after I spoke.

"Oh, nothing of any great consequence. I just realized I should have let you drive yourself today," she announced, apropos of nothing.

"How come?" I questioned, dismay sinking into my soul like a hole in a rowboat.

"I was planning on leaving with Alice once lunch is over..."

The disappointment crushed me, and I couldn't imagine anything pleasant enough for it not to completely drown my facial expression. "Oh..." I blinked, bewildered. "Well, that's okay, it's not that far of a walk..."

Her expression soured, and she gazed at me with a strange flash of indignation. "You are -not- going to walk home," she insisted. "I can wait until after school."

She began to flag Alice over, and with a knot in my stomach I gazed earnestly toward her until our eyes met again. "Can I come with you tonight?"

Sympathy filled her eyes, even if it was a harsher sympathy than most tended to make. "No. We're going hunting..." she whispered.

Instantly understanding, I flushed.

Alice must have seen Edythe's arm, or seen whatever decision change when it occurred, as she bounded over holding that usual Pepsi can in her fingers. "Yes?" She asked pleasantly.

"I feel it prudent to wait until after school to go, Alice," Edythe mentioned with a mild cringe, as though expecting Alice to be in some way disappointed.

She wasn't, and even smirked in a sweetly smug little dance. "Of course, you do," she mentioned with pride. "I already knew that." Alice winked at me playfully before she sat back down next to us.

Feeling as though I had inconvenienced Edythe, I shook my head and tried not to scowl at myself as I looked down at my half-eaten pizza.

"You can always cancel, reschedule for another day," I tried to reassure as I kept looking down at my food. Afraid that the persuasive power of her eyes might steal my will away from me. Even though I knew she could easily kill me, no matter how real the danger was, nothing in the world was going to make me fear her.

"Nonsense, Alice and I will find plenty 'to eat' tonight, I assure you," she encouraged as she glanced back toward her sister. Who was sheepishly grinning.

"Plenty," Alice assured, and Edythe's concerned expression visibly waned with relief. "Emmett...might even join us."

Her words caught Edythe off guard, and while she certainly looked confused, she didn't inquire further right now. "Alright, if he wishes to."

Alice beamed, grinning playfully at the pair of us before her teasing eyes locked on her sister. "Alright, I shall go ask him then."

"Pardon?" The shock that washed over Edythe's face was so comical that I found myself covering my lips with my palm to try and contain my laughter.

Before Edythe could reach out to stop her mischievous pixie sister, Alice was gone. Nearly dancing on her way out of the cafeteria. For some reason, I could still hear her bell-like laughter tinkling in my head as I glanced back to Edythe and tried to touch her fingers encouragingly.

"So, Emmett is coming? That's good, right?"

Edythe shrugged, and moved her hand under the table when I moved my hand to reach for my drink again. Perhaps she worried I was reaching for her hand, which desperate as I was to touch her, I knew we couldn't risk doing.

"Perhaps..." she answered, her eyes off in the distance – in her own mind, no doubt, elsewhere. "Emmett is a far more docile a bear than looks convey, but Rose...his m-...girlfriend..."

I nodded, anxiously toying with the pizza crust instead of eating my food. "Do you think if Emmett is...okay...with us, that Rose might understand someday?"

Edythe kept glancing away – the tone of the room completely changing as soon as the word 'Rose' was mentioned.

"I don't know...I best find out…" She mentioned as she began to stand up, snapping her fingers at me when I started to stand to follow her. "Please, finish your lunch...I will see you in Biology."

My eyes were wide as owls, my entire body spun into rigor-mortis, and I couldn't breathe as she walked away from the table and out the cafeteria door. The wind had been knocked out of me, and I sat back down like a ghost of my former self. A shell, only able to comply with her wishes. Partly because tears threatened to sting at my eyes, she'd left me so quickly that it felt like a part of me had been ripped from my flesh.

Slowly, autonomously, I ate.

What was it about Rose that caused Edythe to become so morose and quiet? Whenever Rosalie was mentioned, Edythe's entire demeanor seemed to shift. I could understand Rosalie not approving of us, a lot of people were never going to understand what we had. It felt like more than that, even if I couldn't exactly pinpoint the reasons why, or I was too afraid to accept the answer that felt most probable to me. Had Rose and Edythe been close friends before all this?

I chewed, nibbling at the pizza even. Hoping that maybe if I stalled eating, she would come back to make sure I garnished enough nutrition for the day. Wherever Edythe was now, she was gone, and all my old friends were over at their usual table – I was too nervous to look and see if they were staring at me.

It would make sense, I wagered to myself, that if Rose and Edythe had been close friends and now they were strained – it would certainly explain why Edythe was upset. However, in my weeks of watching their family lunch table, it was rare that Edythe sat next to Rosalie. Usually she sat by Alice, or Jasper. Rosalie was always at the other side of the table, near Emmett. They never touched or hugged. That seemed contrary evidence to my assumption.

Thinking back on it, Emmett was always between them in some way, like a muscled bouncer. Was it on purpose that he often stood between them? Edythe and Emmett both looked to be the outdoorsy-sporty types, or at least more 'fitness enthused' than Rosalie seemed to be. Was that sibling friendship the only reason? What other reason would there be? It wasn't like Rosalie was jealous…

Suddenly I felt unnaturally cold – as though I had swallowed ice cubes whole and they plopped restlessly in my stomach. All efforts to eat slipped away from me, and I pushed the lunch tray away so I could lean my elbows on the table and bury my face in my hands. Rosalie? Jealous? Why? Edythe said she wasn't accepting of us, how would that translate to her being jealous?

My face felt hot and cold, and I let my hair cover my hands and face as I just breathed in and out.

Edythe had never expressly stated that Rose was disgusted that we were both girls, although she had worded it in such a way as to jump to that conclusion. She said she didn't approve of us being 'friends', a couple. Had Rosalie...once been in love with Edythe? What did Edythe mean by 'her past hypocrisy'? All of this seemed like a stretch – even for me, who had just managed to accept that vampires existed and they all had super powers.

Clearly I was imagining things. There was no reason to be worried about Edythe and Rosalie – she was worried about her sister. A sister she clearly worried about. Here I was making an idiot of myself. Embarrassed for even debating such a preposterous suggestion, I tugged my tray back and tried to at least force down a few more bites of pizza and salad.

Waiting until the bell rang, I got up from the table and carried my bag with me toward Biology. Surely once I got there, I would see Edythe and she would be fine. There wasn't any reason why my crazy worries were true, and I was just depressed that we lost out on time together.

Walking into Biology with a cheerful gait, convincing myself I was foolish to be anything but reassured that she cared so much about her family, when I entered the class my happiness waned.

Edythe wasn't in her chair, and upon closer inspection, there was a folded strip of paper hidden on top of her seat; under the table. Unable to wait, I tugged the strip of paper from its resting place and carefully unveiled it in front of me. My eyes scanning the words over and over as prickles of stinging pain dabbed at my eyes.

'Bella,

Please forgive me, I cannot stay until the end of school as I promised you. It is too great a risk to neglect my diet before we spend time alone tomorrow. We will stop by your house for your truck, and leave it in our usual parking spot with the keys in the glove compartment.'

The only line preventing my eyes from tearing up was the post script penned in her elegant calligraphy at the bottom:

'Please be safe, you are dearly missed, E'

Folding the note and pressing it inside the bottom of my backpack, where no one could steal it from me, I withdrew my Biology book and tried desperately not to focus on the fact that she was gone…

I intuitively knew – and sensed that she did, also – that tomorrow would be pivotal. Our relationship couldn't continue to balance, as it did, on the point of a knife. We would fall off one edge or the other, depending entirely upon her decision or her instincts. My decision was made, made before I'd ever consciously chosen, and I was committed to seeing it through. There was nothing more terrifying to me, more excruciating, than the thought of turning away from her. It was an impossibility for me, and I could only hope it was the same for her.

Biology and Gym passed by in a wave of exhausting tedium – my mind constantly drifting to how on earth Edythe would be able to bring the Beast to school for me. My car keys had been left in the pocket of the jeans I wore two days ago – they were probably still on the floor by my bed, messy teenager that I was. How would she find my keys there? Was she going to jump start my car?

The impossibility of the scenario didn't sink until I walked toward the parking lot after school and found my Beast – sitting cozily in Edythe's parking spot. In shock, I walked directly toward it and touched the aged red paint to reassure myself that I wasn't dreaming. She had brought my car – she had found my keys and kept her word to me.

Curious, I looked around for Emmett's green Jeep; but, it was gone. The silver Volvo was also nowhere to be seen.

Rain began to sprinkle down on me, and not needing anymore incentive, I hopped into the cab of the Beast, closed the door, and checked the glove box. My keys were wrapped in another piece of paper, the same kind as she'd left on the chair in Biology. The note more important than my keys, I hurriedly unwrapped it and stretched it open in front of me. Two words were written in her elegant script:

'Be safe'.

The sound of the Beast roaring to life nearly frightened me, and I laughed at myself. It had been only a few days since I drove the truck to school, and already I seemed to have forgotten just how loud he was. When I got home, the handle of the door was unlocked, the deadbolt was also unlocked, just as I'd left it this morning. Inside, I went straight up to my room, which looked the same as I'd left it, too. Bending for the messy pile that was my jeans from the other day, I checked the pockets to find them empty. It seemed a strange thing, even as I held my keys in my hand, that they were gone from my jean pocket. She hadn't secretly made a copy – she had truly found my keys. Maybe I had hung the key up downstairs, after all, I wondered to myself as I shook my head.

Charlie was absentminded at dinner, worried over something at work – I guessed. Or maybe a basketball game, or perhaps just really enjoying my lasagna – it was hard to tell with Charlie. But, knowing how fearful Edythe was of accidentally...destroying me...I decided to give my father some good'ol reassurance, too.

"You know, Dad..." I began, breaking into his reverie.

"What's that, Bells?"

"I think you're right about Seattle. It's better if I wait until Jessica or someone else can go with me."

"Oh..." he mentioned, swallowing and wiping his mustache with a napkin. "Does this mean you'll be going to the dance?"

My cheeks unconsciously flared like a puffer fish before Charlie apologetically smiled. "No."

"Okay, then," he paused. "Did you want me to stay home?"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Nah, go fishing. I've got tons of stuff to do tomorrow – homework, laundry. I need to go to the library and the grocery store. I'll just be in and out all day – you go and have fun."

He forked a good-sized bite of lasagna; but, he didn't eat it yet. "Are you sure?"

"Completely. Besides – the freezer is getting dangerously low on fish – we're down to two, maybe three years' supply," I teased.

He laughed, shaking his head. "You're sure easy to live with, Bells," he said with a smile before he took that bite of lasagna.

"Same," I said, laughing. The sound of my laughter felt off; but, he didn't seem to notice. I felt guilty deceiving him, so much so that I almost considered telling him the truth of where I would really be tomorrow. But I didn't want him to know, in case something bad -did- happen. He should enjoy having a good time tomorrow without worrying about me.

After dinner, I folded clothes and moved another load through the dryer. Unfortunately, it was the kind of task that only keeps the hands busy. My mind definitely had too much free time, and my brain was getting out of control. I fluctuated between anticipation so intense that it was nearly painful, and an insidious fear that pricked at my resolve. I had to keep reminding myself that I'd made my choice, and I wasn't going back on it.

Pulling the simple, tiny, note out of my pocket – for the hundredth time tonight – I absorbed those two words over and over. 'Be safe' it still read. She wants me to be safe, I told myself again and again. I had to hold on to that faith, that her desire for my safety would win over all the other urges she hungered for. What was my other option? To cut her out of my life? I couldn't bear to dwell on that option, it didn't exist for me. Since I'd come to forks, it really seemed like my life was all about her.

'Be safe', the note urged. As I had done periodically throughout the evening, I kissed her words and folded the note back in my pocket.

However, every so often, a tiny voice would creep out from the depths of my subconscious mind. Wondering if it would hurt if our relationship…ended badly. Would it hurt if she bit me? Would I be dead before I could really feel the pain of it? She acted like it was very difficult for her to be around me, and I couldn't help but wonder at the extent of the danger I was in. What if she wasn't as strong as I thought she was?

Relief filled me when it was finally late enough to be an acceptable bedtime. No wishing to spend hours kissing my pillow again – which I knew would just make me toss and turn all night – I did something I'd never done before. Deliberately taking strong night-time cold medicine, the kind that knocked me out for a good eight hours in the past, I crawled into bed and waited for the 'drug' to take hold of me. I normally wouldn't condone that kind of reckless abandonment; but, tomorrow would be complicated enough without me being loopy from sleep deprivation on top of everything else.

While I waited for the drugs to kick in, I fussed inwardly on what I would wear tomorrow. With everything ready for the morning, and my hands having gone through the giant pile of clothes and accessories that I had unpacked from Alice's black bags, there were many great choices to pick from. Still wearing Edythe's shark tooth necklace, toying with the tooth with my fingers, I wondered how far away she'd gone to hunt. Trying to imagine what it must be like to chase prey through the woods, the cold medicine took effect, and I gladly sank into unconsciousness.

In the early morning, I woke, having slept soundly thanks to my gratuitous drug use. Although I was well rested, I slipped right back into the same hectic frenzy as I had during the night before. I dressed in a rush – nay, I re-dressed three times – before I settled the collar of an olive green polo against my neck. Fidgeting with the bottom of the shirt til it hung the right way over my jeans. Several times, I sneaked a quick look out the window to see that Charlie was gone. A thin, cotton-like, layer of clouds veiled the sky. As beautiful as it was to see those bright wisps of cloud, they didn't look like they would last for very long today.

When would Edythe be here? Was she not going to come until the afternoon? My heart was on edge – hoping and dreading when she arrived. I could barely eat my bowl of cereal, and when I did I ate without tasting the food. Hurrying to clean up when I was done so I could peek out the window again. Nothing had changed outside. I had just finished brushing my teeth and heading back downstairs to pace around the house when a quiet knock sent my heart thudding villainously against my rib cage.

Edythe was here!

I flew to the door; my fingers stumbling so badly that I had trouble with the ridiculously easy to turn deadbolt lock. Finally yanking the door open, at last, she was there. All the agitation I felt dissolved as soon as I looked at her face – calm replacing my anxiety. Gasping a breath of relief, all of my fears from yesterday faded from my memory.

She wasn't smiling at first – her face was calm and somber. However, her expression lightened as she looked me over, and a soft laugh escaped her lips.

"Good morning," she greeted with another chuckle.

"What?" I glanced down to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything important – like my shoes or my pants!

"We match," she mentioned with a harder laugh. Dipping to show she had an olive green polo shirt, and dark, pale, bluejeans. Flushing red from the unintended match of fashion, I laughed with her, hiding a secret twinge of regret. She looked like a runway model in her clothes, it seemed embarrassing to me that I felt like a bean-pole in comparison.

"We do...I swear Alice didn't tell me what to wear," I joked. Turning then, to invite her inside, Edythe stayed where she was. When she didn't follow, I tilted my head. "Would you care to come inside?"

Fear subtly tugged at me, that she didn't want to be 'alone' in my house, but she chuckled and leaned in the doorway. "I was actually hoping to take you someplace special today, if that's alright with you?"

Struck by the idea of being -anywhere- with Edythe, the idea of even saying no never occurred to me. "Uh, sure, let me get my coat and stuff."

Edythe followed me inside, then, taking a curious glance directly at the family photos on the wall. Inwardly I cringed at the old photos of me, which were very embarrassing to me. I unconsciously tried to move the most recent school picture my mom had sent Charlie so that the picture frame faced down. Which of course made Edythe yearn to look at it further, and she chuckled fondly at me.

"What's wrong with this one? I think you look adorable," she mentioned bemusedly, and I cringed.

"People are supposed to smile, not squint," I joked, but it was no use – she was holding the picture frame in her hands and looking over my family photos. Afraid of hearing more unnecessary compliments, I walked upstairs to my room and looked for my shoulder purse. It seemed silly to bring my entire book-bag. when I didn't know where we were going, so I stuffed my keys and wallet into the little purse and slung it over my shoulder. Half expecting Edythe to follow me upstairs, I peeked down from the top, but she was out of view. Still looking over photos of me and my mom, no doubt.

Walking back downstairs, I slid my arms into the purple coat she had given me, and zipped it up before the purse was hung diagonally across my chest. Edythe turned to take me in then, grinning as she tried to comb her fingers through my hair and press locks around my ear. For a moment I forgot how to breathe – I could only take in the scent of her skin. Bliss consumed me, and embarrassing as it was in my subconscious, in this moment I didn't care.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked me, her cold fingers drifting away.

I swallowed, cautiously nodding. "Yeah."

Following Edythe outside, I realized the silver Volvo wasn't there, and I glanced around to search for it. Edythe must have seen me, because she chuckled and gestured with her fingers in a 'come hither' motion that made my knees weak. Locking the house, I followed like a yo-yo on a string, until I stood next to her by the driver's side door of my truck.

"Passenger side, the trip will be a mite lengthy," Edythe instructed, and I hopped into the driver's side door she held open for me and scooted all the way to the other side of the cab. Never mind that I could have just walked around the front of my truck to open the door and get in, my brain acted on impulse and Edythe stood there subtly giggling at me. It was probably best that she drove, anyhow, I couldn't stop looking at her face as she slipped into the cab behind me.

"S-so, where are we going?" I asked, watching her perfect hands fasten her seat belt.

She glanced over at me as she slid the keys into the ignition. At some point, probably while I'd stood there distracted beside her, she must have fished my car keys out of my hand or purse. Maybe I had just unconsciously given them to her when she got in the car? Did it matter? No, they were still my keys, and my purse felt lighter when I jostled it.

"It's a surprise," she chided playfully. That crooked half smile blooming over her mouth rendering me speechless for a moment.

"Okay," I whispered, and soundlessly watched her veer my obnoxiously loud old truck out of the driveway. She soon took the exit onto the one-oh-one highway.

"Goodness, this engine is loud," she teased.

I scoffed playfully, back. "Hey, Beast is old enough to be your car's grandfather – have some respect." I retorted, and she chuckled mischievously back.

We were soon outside of town limits, and thick underbrush and green-swathed trunks replaced the sea of lawns and houses we had been driving past. Sliding into the right lane, she turned onto the one-ten exit, and I couldn't help but wonder where on earth we were going. I'd never taken this road before, and the idea that this was perhaps Edythe's route home everyday filled me with a soft sheen of wonder.

"How far are we going?" I asked, trying to keep my eyes on the road ahead of us, even though Edythe's gorgeous glistening gold eyes were impossible to ignore for very long.

"Until the pavement ends,' Se said with a smile in her voice.

"And what's there? At the pavement's end? Your house?" I asked in awe.

"A trail," she chirped cheerfully.

I audibly groaned, biting down on my tongue. "We're hiking?..." Thank goodness I'd worn tennis shoes…

"Is that a problem?" Edythe teased, turning her head with mischief glinting over her eyes. Of course she knew I wouldn't enjoy hiking.

"Not at all," I badly lied, and I could feel her smirk at me from the driver's seat.

"You needn't worry, we'll only be walking about five miles or so," She mentioned as though that wasn't a herculean task. Five miles. I didn't answer, so that she wouldn't hear my voice crack with panic. Five miles of treacherous roots, loose stones, all trying to twist my ankles or otherwise incapacitate me. This was going to be so humiliating.

We drove in silence along the pavement as I contemplated the inevitable horror. So much so that she turned to me with curiosity burning in her eyes.

"What are you thinking about?"

I lied, too proud to tell her the reason. "Just admiring the...mushy scenery. Wondering where we're going…"

She craned her head at me out of the corner of my eye; but, I kept my gaze out the window. Trying to resist her face, because she would no doubt discover my fallacy. "I'm taking you to my favorite spot, a place I enjoy visiting when the weather is nice."

We both glanced out the windows at the thinning clouds after she spoke.

"Looks like it could be warmer today," I mentioned, even though I could see the thicker mass of rain clouds hovering ominously in the distance.

"Does your father know you're with me?" She finally asked, and I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

"No, he doesn't," I answered honestly.

"What about Jessica?" She asked, and I shrugged nonchalantly.

"I guess she does, does it matter?"

Edythe's hands clutched the steering wheel of my car, her athletic arms tensing as she gazed over at me. "It does, to me."

I sat there wondering why it was so important that Jessica knew I was spending time with Edythe. Even though I knew the answer, it didn't erase the mild irritation that had sideswiped me from nowhere.

When I didn't speak, she continued. "It...helps me...to have more incentives to keep my urges in check."

Unable to resist, I turned to her – scrutinizing every facet of her face. "Urges?"

She looked over to me with annoyance molding her face into a hard line. "Yes, my natural, predatory, urges."

What hope I had of her feeling desire for me waned, considerably. "Oh, you mean..." I trailed off, swallowing uncomfortably as I looked to the window. "To...eat me."

The truck considerably slowed to a stop. The road had ended, constricting to a thin foot trail with a small wooden marker. She parked along the narrow shoulder of the road; but, she didn't unbuckle her seat belt as she looked at me.

"I understand it is difficult for you to fathom...but the first time I smelled you – every instinct within me implored me to devour you."

The hair on my arms stood on end, and I kept my distance as I worriedly watched her eyes. She reached out, with trembling fingers, to touch my arm. I didn't stop her, but it simply transferred her incurable trembling to me, and I felt the shivers of fear rush down to my toes.

"Even now...my throat – burns...it tortures me..."

Empathy softened my face, her pain filling my lungs with agony for what she must be enduring right now. "If it's so hard for you to be around me, then why are we always together?"

She flushed, without turning pink or red in any manner. "Because I can't stay away from you..."

Reaching my right hand, I tried to touch the fingers resting over my left forearm. She slid her fingers from my sleeve before I could, only to invigorate me by extending her hand to take my own in a shaky clasp.

"I can't stay away from you either..." I confessed, my voice weak in my throat.

"I wish you could..." She said, which felt like a hammer driving nails in my heart, but the blood rushed cold and fluid; acid welling up inside me as I turned away. Perhaps she realized she had hurt me, because her fingers laced more with my own and she carefully squeezed my hand closer to her. "I only wish it, because you should have every happiness of life..."

I parted my lips, about to ask what she meant by that; but, she interrupted me before I could snap out of my surprise.

"Alas, we've arrived," she said cheerfully as she hopped out of the truck and pocketed my keys. Stepping out of the truck myself, I glanced up at the sky and hummed quietly to myself.

It was warm now, warmer even that it had been in Forks since the day I'd arrived. Almost muggy under the clouds, I pulled off my purple coat and set it on the cab before I shut the door. When I turned to look for Edythe, she was facing away from me – staring into the unbroken forest beside my truck.

"It's this way," she began, glancing over her shoulder at me as she started under the thick canopy of trees.

"The trial?" I pressed, needing reassurance that there even was one – I didn't see the cleared little dirt paths that usually marked them. Panic was clear in my voice as I hurried to catch up with her.

"No," she mentioned, pointing farther down from my truck. "The trail is that way, but we're not taking the trail," she added, and I swallowed anxiously.

"N-not taking the trail?" I asked, desperately.

She grinned at me. "Don't worry, I know my way around this place."

She turned then, setting her hands on her hips, and I expelled a poorly stifled gasp of shock. The posture of her arms caused the fabric of her matching dark olive polo shirt to tug against her figure. She wore it unbuttoned at the top, so that the smooth flush of green flowed over the marble contours of her collarbones. Her perfectly sculpted, athletic, figure was no longer merely hinted behind thick concealing clothes. She was too radiant – too perfect – I realized with a piercing stab of despair. There was no way on this Earth that this goddess could possibly have been meant for someone like me.

She stared at me, bewildered by my tortured expression.

"Would you prefer to go home?" She asked quietly, a different pain than mine saturating her velvet voice.

"N.." I croaked out the syllable. Unable to utter a simple no, I simply shook my head and forced my numbed feet to press forward until I was beside her – anxious not to risk wasting one precious second of whatever time I had left with her.

"Then what is it?" She asked, concern gently coursing through her tone.

The lie couldn't fall from me fast enough, and I tried desperately to say it without flushing. "I'm really not a good hiker...it might take me hours to get through here..."

She smiled, holding my gaze, as though trying to lift me out of my sudden, unexplained, dejection. I tried to smile back; but, my smile was unconvincing and she scrutinized my face.

"Perhaps you would prefer I carry you?" She tried to lightly tease.

My face flushed red. Oh no. I would die or faint if I felt her that close to me again.

"L-Listen, if you want me to hack five miles through the jungle before sundown, you'd better start leading the way..." I said with a forced acidic tone that was the worst bluff I could have uttered. She frowned, smirking mischievously, as she walked. I wobbled, trying to follow and keep up with her pace.

Edythe surrendered after a moment, and led the way into the thicket. It wasn't quite as difficult as I had feared the walk to be. The route was mostly flat, and she held the sea of damp ferns and webs of moss aside for me. When her straight path took us over fallen trees or boulders, she would help me – lifting me by my elbow, and then gently releasing me when I was safe. Her cold touch on my skin never failed to make my heart thud erratically. Twice, when it happened, I caught the look on her face that made me absolutely certain that she could somehow hear my frantic heart.

Desperately, I tried to keep my eyes as far away from her perfection as possible; but, I failed miserably. Each moment my eyes gazed over her beauty, my soul was pierced with sadness. For the most part, we walked in silence. On occasion, she would ask me a random question that she hadn't managed to ask e in the past few days of interrogation. She asked me about my grade school teachers, childhood pets – and I had to admit that after unintentionally killing three fish in a row, I'd given up the whole institution. She laughed about that, louder than I was used to. Bell-like echoes bouncing back to us from the empty woods.

The hike took most of the morning; but, she never showed any irritation or impatience. In a boundless labyrinth of ancient trees, I began to feel nervous that we might never find our way out again, and yet she was perfectly at ease. So comfortable in this green maze, that what worries I had soon numbed as she kept us going on the route hard pressed within her head.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and paused to catch my breath. "Are we close, yet?"

"Mm hmm," she mentioned, gesturing ahead of her. "Do you see brightness ahead?"

I peered listlessly into the thick forest. "No, should I be?"

She smirked mischievously at me. "Perhaps it's a mite too soon for your eyes."

With a huff, I sighed playfully. "Time to see the optometrist," I muttered. Her smirk grew more pronounced, but she revealed nothing behind her mischief.

However, after another hundred yards or so, I could definitely see light filtering in through the trees ahead of us. A glow that was yellow instead of green. Unable to deny my joy of seeing sunlight, I picked up my pace – feet growing lighter at every step. She let me lead now, following soundlessly behind me as I crunched my way ahead.

Bathing myself when I reached the edge of the pool of light, I stepped through the last fringe of ferns into the loveliest place I had ever beheld. The meadow was small, perfectly round, and filled with wildflowers – violet, yellow, and soft white. Somewhere nearby, I could hear the bubbling music of a stream. The sun was directly overhead, filling this sacred circle with a haze of buttery sunshine.

I walked slowly, awestruck, as though the world was no longer black and white. Stepping through the soft grass, swaying flowers, and warm gilded air, I turned halfway – wanting to share this moment with her. But she wasn't behind me, where I presumed she was.

"Edythe?" Anxiously, I spun around, searching for her with sudden alarm griping my chest.

Finally, I spotted her, still under the dense shade of the canopy, at the edge of the hollow, watching me with a cautious gaze. Only then could I remember what the beauty of the meadow had driven from my mind – the enigma of Edythe and the sun, which she'd promised to illustrate for me someday.

Wetting my lips, I took a careful step back toward her, my eyes alight with curiosity. Her own golden orbs were wary, reluctant. I curved my mouth in an encouraging smile, raising my hand to beckon to her to join me as I took another step toward her. She held up a hand in warning, and I hesitated, rocking back onto the heels of my feet.

Edythe seemed as though she was taking a deep breath, and then stepped out into the gorgeous glow of the midday sun…


	14. Chapter Thirteen - The Lion and the Lamb

_This chapter had a completely different ending, and quite the altered beginning - in fact I am altering the flow of the story in a manner that may cause great rendering toward the end of this book - although I shall do my best never to lose the integrity of the original story. I feel women, just from my own experience, share and discuss things more often than with men. Which of course is not always true, but I simply wrote what felt natural to me._

 _Some things in the original book seemed amiss, or never explained to the detail I hoped they might be, so this is an effort to add more details about vampirism in this series - which may or may not be true to the original - but this is my fanfiction, after all. My goal is to edit as little as possible, and I truly pursue that goal, but not at the cost of diluting the setting or their passion for each other. As always, thank you for reading! Leave your comments in the review, or send me messages if you wish_

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

The meadow, so spectacular to me at first, paled next to her magnificence in the moment Edythe stepped out into the sunlight. It was shocking – I couldn't get used to it. Her skin, white despite the faint flush from her hunting trip yesterday, literally sparkled like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface of her flesh. She stood perfectly still, her olive polo part way open to reveal her sculpted, athletic, incandescent chest. Her scintillating arms almost completely bare. Her glistening, pale lavender eyelids, remaining shut. She was a perfect statue, carved from otherworldly stone, smooth as marble and glittering like crystals. Now and then, her lips would move, so fast that they looked like they were trembling as she stood there.

My feet led me to her, and I couldn't stop myself once I'd started. The ground was drier under my feet here, from the meadow itself lingering above the cloud bank that constantly concealed Forks from the sun. Each soft crunch gave me confidence – I had no fear of stumbling on terrain so close to what my body unconsciously knew. Never looking down, she remained eerily still at the entrance to the meadow.

Too stunned to think or speak, I drew in her presence with each passing breath as she drew steadily closer. Fear gripped me, or something very like fear, that she might vanish from me at any moment. A replay of weeks of dreams where she beckoned me and fled before I could touch her. Each loud thump beat roughly against my rib cage, but still she remained standing there. Soft, dry, grass surrounded me like waves in the breeze. But I could only watch her face, her hair stirring in the gentle wind; tangling her hair around her neck as I closed the distance between us.

Reaching out, hesitantly raising just one trembling finger, I almost touched her hand and stopped. She was so unreal; a mirage in this desert of rain. I marveled again at the texture of her skin up close, the different flecks of faint lavender that was so pleasingly violet under the gleam of the sun.

Slowly, befuddled, Edythe opened her eyes. Golden butterscotch irises gleamed under the sun as she took me in. How stupid I must look, standing there, mouth half-hung open with one pointer finger looming in the air.

She laughed, and her hand moved; cold fingers cautiously wrapping around my hand. Sparkles in vibrational form coursing through me as her gaze softened to take in the awe coating my face.

"Do I scare you?" She almost teased, but I couldn't speak – the shivers sent cold borne warmth from my knees to my ankles. Stretching to everywhere.

"Uhm..." The noise died before it could even whisper out of me.

She smiled wider; her teeth flashing like white-washed pearls in the sun. "Your face has no color, Bella..."

Maybe it was her teasing voice, or the bright curiosity blooming over her eyes, but words managed to form in my throat; unclogging the pipes. "N-no more than yours." The playful sarcasm embarrassed me, for some reason.

Her fingers, finely lithe, coaxed over my hand. "Are you...afraid of me?" She genuinely ached to know, I could see her perfectly glistening face contort in the sun.

"No...not of you."

She tried to chuckle, but the sound was awkward; despite sounding exquisite to my ears. "Tell me," she entreated.

My mouth felt dry, even as I felt wetness over my tongue. When I swallowed, it stung without hurting me. "I..."

When I couldn't express myself, Edythe guided me carefully. As though I was her shadow, mere black silhouettes not enough of a shade to do such an angel justice, she took me near the center of the meadow. Guiding me to sit down, probably because she could hear my trembling heartbeat, I acquiesced and unconsciously felt myself plop down on the dry grass and flowers. She sat down beside me, sliding her hand away from holding my own.

"Tell me what you're thinking…please," she repeated now that we were both seated, her hands sliding into her lap. "It's so strange for me, not knowing..."

Autonomously, my hands stretched forward to grasp her hand again. She didn't stop me, and the vibrations shot through me again. I felt more alive than I could ever remember living, as silly as that was to admit to myself.

"I'm...I feel like you're going to disappear..."

Pain engulfed her face. "I truly should, you know...I can't...give you, everything I wish I could," she began, but before my mouth could open to ask, she elaborated further: "I should have stayed in Alaska, and not come back, after we met..."

Breath shuddered from me, sucked in to try and counter the terrible pain which had struck my lungs at her confession. "W-why?"

Her fingertip lightly trailed over my hand in letters or patterns I couldn't conceive; unable to look away from her eyes for answers. "Your life might have been spared of all this..." she began, reaching forward to try and comb my dark brown hair behind one ear. My face flushed with heat, even as her fingers were dry ice against my face. "But I am essentially a selfish creature...I crave your company too much to do as I should..."

"I'm glad," I breathed out of me.

"You mustn't be!" She withdrew her hand, more gently this time; her voice harsh and cold, still more beautiful than any human voice I had ever heard before. It was hard to keep up – her sudden mood changes always left me one step behind; perplexed. The pain muddled the anger laced over her perfect, shimmering, face.

"I know..." To deny the difficulties would be illogical. "But I don't care."

I reached out for her hand again; but, she was suddenly gone.

Panting from shock, I saw her at the far end of the meadow, grabbing something – a boulder, from the edge of the stream. With one heavy jolt of movement, she threw the boulder like it weighed no more than a pebble. The boulder crashed several yards from me – slamming into innocent wildflowers and rolling several feet up the slant of a hill where it lodged into the soil. Half a football field, smearing dirt all over the place just out of reach for the cataclysm to touch me.

Stunned – as she might as well thrown a Styrofoam movie prop across a field, Edythe was suddenly there – writhing with anger as she stood beside me. Unable to read her face, if it was more angry or hurt, the mystery left me feeling more frozen than the evidence of her impossible strength.

"Do you understand how easily I can kill you? How badly I crave to?!" She demanded.

In one blink, she was gone again, and weakly I stood; desperate to find where she had vanished to. Hearing her before I saw her, she was near where the boulder had landed. Grasping hold of it to toss it back toward the stream. It soared with unnatural grace through the air and crashed into the trunk of a tree – which loudly snapped as half of its body crashed defeatedly into the forest. A symphony of loud snaps sickeningly stilling me into paralyzed silence.

"Everything -about- me draws you in!" She exclaimed, so near me that I sucked in a breath of air from terror. The horror died as soon as I saw her so close to me again, her face easing the thudding of my heart to a slightly less frenzied palpitation. "My face, my voice – even my smell – is designed to seduce you."

Unable to deny that, I stayed as still as I could, watching her carefully pad closer to me. She was only three feet away from me now, and yet, she might as well have still been across the field.

"I am the ultimate predator – what creature of this world can hunt better than I?" I had no answer to her words; but, her question was rhetorical, and she sputtered on. "It is through -great- pains that you live, Bella. Without precautions, you and I would not be here."

I swallowed, shaking. "L-like hunting…"

Her shoulders softened, looking less like a lion on the prowl as she began to unclasp her fists. "Yes…I am not thirsty now, but that does not erase how difficult this is for me."

Difficult? My wonder at that word terrified me. "B-Because I'm a girl?"

She looked at me in annoyed bewilderment, as though she felt my answer was so stupid that she wondered why on earth she liked me. She blinked, and her annoyance stirred my heart again.

"B-Because I'm human?"

She closed her lavender eyelids and rubbed her temple, as though struck with a sudden migraine. "Bella...how do I explain to you..." She mentioned, exasperated at me.

I was so afraid to offend her that I stayed my distance, even as my hands bunched up against my stomach to try and stop the trembling need to grasp her hand again.

"You are...like a drug to me. My own, personal, brand of heroin," She explained, and I felt her fingers lightly hold my own. "Your blood sings to me with such vivacity, I can scarcely contain myself around you...do you not value your life – at all – Bella?"

The answer was obvious, so obvious, and yet for my desire not to upset her when it was so difficult for her to be around me, I said nothing. My answer would only anger her, and she might leave. I couldn't bear it, and I couldn't speak.

"I have spoken with my brothers, about how strongly I desire your blood…" She stopped looking into my eyes; staring off into the distance to the battered tree she had so easily destroyed. "To Jasper, every human is much the same to him. He is the most...recent, to join our family. It has been a struggle for him to abstain from human blood, much less to grow sensitive to the differences in scent, or flavor..." she glanced at me, but I said nothing, and she continued. "Emmett has been drinking animal blood for several decades now, and he understands the pull I have...for your blood, over every other human I have ever thirsted for."

Unable to deny my curiosity, I barely spoke above a whisper. "What did Emmett say?"

"He said this situation has happened twice before..." she paused, her face tightening in agony as she kept looking out to the trees. "Both...ended badly."

"Is there no hope then?...are-are you asking for 'permission'? T-To bite-?" Her hands withdrew from mine, stunning me to silence.

"No!" She was instantly contrite. "No! How can you speak so casually of your life?!" She demanded, and I closed my mouth into a hard, trembling, line as her entire body tensed and her hands once more welled up into fists. "Don't you think if I truly -wanted- to hurt you, I would have long before now?!"

Unable to deny myself, I closed those few steps to try and touch her fist. "I do – there have already been several times you could have killed me. That isn't who you are-"

She was gone, one blink and I couldn't see her. Turning frantically, she was six feet behind me, holding up one hand to stop me from approaching her. "That did not stop Emmett.."

"Y-you're not...Emmett.."

Growling in frustration, the noise reverberating from her chest like bass thrumming lowly from speakers. She aggressively threw something – something I couldn't see. It smacked far off in the distance, whatever it was, but I didn't care. My eyes were on her, and I was walking closer.

She walked backwards, and I stopped. "If we had met...in any other way, perhaps, than in a classroom – surrounded by children...I would not have...denied myself. I would have ruined everything Carlisle has built for us, right then and there..."

The words flew from me, even as I knew she would hate them. "It's okay – I forgive you."

The growl curled her lips into a sickening snarl of disgust. "Good God, you are" – she struggled for the words.

"Positively absurd?" I tried to quote her, from what felt like months ago, hoping against hope that she might be amused enough to be distracted from her rage.

The edge of her mouth curled ever so slightly in a smile; but, her vehemence was too great to rid her of the irritation smeared over her glistening face. "Positively _dense_ , Bella. I swear, never have I met someone so -daftly- obstinate as you."

Dumbfounded at her words; ashamed, I looked down at my hands and twiddled my fingers like the idiot she thought I was. "Is...Is that why you hated me when we met?"

I didn't see or hear her, but her hands slid over my hands; lightly holding them still. "Yes..." she confessed. "To me, it was like you were some kind of demon – summoned straight from the abyss to ruin me. The fragrance coming off your skin nearly spun me into madness. In one hour, I must have thought of a hundred different ways to lure you from the room with me...to get you alone. My family, and all the terrible things I would do to them, stayed me back...but I had to run away, before I could speak any of the words that would make you follow me..."

She looked up then, at my staggered expression, as I tried to absorb the weight of her bitter memories. Her golden eyes scorched under her lashes, hypnotic and deadly as she took me in with every ounce of seriousness. When I didn't answer, and looked back down at her hands, to still myself, she spoke with a dry laugh.

"You must have thought me possessed..." She mentioned, her lips tilted grimly.

My fingers tried to cautiously squeeze her own – fingers that felt so much more delicate than they were. It took me some time to formulate my thoughts, but when I spoke, my voice sounded calmer than I felt. "What made you come back?"

She shrugged in the corner of my vision, or held back a chuckle. "Honestly? Arrogance," she began. "When I tried to rearrange my schedule in a pointless attempt to avoid you, you were there – in that close little warm room – and the scent was maddening. I nearly killed you then – with only one witness unable to protect you."

I shivered despite the warmth of the sun, seeing my memories through her eyes, only now grasping the danger I had been in. Poor Ms. Cope; I shivered again at how close I'd come to being inadvertently responsible for her death.

"I didn't go home after that, I ran north – swam through to Canada and beyond; too ashamed to tell my family how weak I was. They only knew something was wrong…Esme would never have let me go, otherwise. She would have tried to convince me that leaving wasn't necessary...but, by next morning I was in Alaska."

She sounded ashamed in admitting her cowardice, and too riveted to know more, I simply nodded my head and gazed back up at her face to urge her to continue. "I spent two days there, with some old acquaintances of mine – quickly homesick. I hated knowing how I had upset Esme, and the rest of them...In the pure air of the mountains, I convinced myself that you were not impossible to resist – that I was weak to run away. I've dealt with temptation before, albeit certainly not of this magnitude, but I was sure I was stronger. Who were you, after all, some insignificant little girl," she grinned at me devilishly, and I understood her arrogance. "Who were you to chase me away from my family? So I came back…

"I took precautions, of course, hunting – feeding more than usual, before seeing you again. I was sure that I was powerful enough to treat you like any other human..."

At this moment, I felt my curiosity well up in me, and I tried gently to interrupt her. "I think you've done very well..."

Her brows formed a hard press to scrunch the middle of her forehead together in irritation, but she refused to comment and instead continued onward. "You are the only person I have met who I cannot read...and to protect myself and my family I had to try and force you to forget how I had...acted, before." She paused, moving one hand away from me to ball it into a fist at her side. "Do you have any idea how tedious it is to read Jessica's mind? Having to eavesdrop through a -sea- of nothingness to hear your words in her head?"

A laugh escaped me, and she shared it for a moment.

"You cannot believe how annoying it was to have to stoop so low to hear your opinions, and never know if you were being honest about them."

"Well, now you understand how the rest of the world feels," I teased.

Her fist released, and she brought her fingers back to trail symbols on the back of my hand again. "Over time, I wanted you to forget my behavior that first day for...other reasons. I was eager, actually, to decipher your thoughts. I found myself caught up in your little expressions...but, every now and then you stir the air with your hand or your hair, and your scent would stun me again.."

She clenched her eyes shut, and her hands drew still; holding her breath for several seconds. "I have...made nearly every effort to resist becoming...more involved...with you. To stay as far away from you as possible. And yet, every day – the perfume of your skin, your breath, your hair...it hits me as hard now as it had the first day..."

Her eyelids were so beautiful when they were closed, closed and trembling with fervor. Fluid peaked at the edges of her lashes, glistening almost as strongly as her skin. She was so vulnerable – I couldn't help myself from interjecting. "I don't...understand, how I could affect you so much."

She curled her mouth wryly in a smile that bubbled into a dry chuckle. "Bella..." She ruffled her fingers playfully through my hair with one of her hands, sliding away from my own. A shock ran through my body again, to the point where my toes felt twisted in my shoes. "Trying to answer that question, is trying to ask how God exists...How I exist..."

I felt foolish, even as the lack of an answer drenched me with dread. "Even so..."

"I don't know...but...I..." She drew breath, formulating her thoughts. "...I couldn't live with myself if I ever hurt you, Bella. You cannot know how this has tortured me." She gazed down; ashamed, again. "The thought of you, still, white, cold...to never see you blush scarlet again, never see the flash of intuition glint in your eyes when you see through my pretenses...it would be unendurable." She lifted her glorious, agonized, eyes to mine. I followed; unable to look away as well. "You are the most important creature to me now...the most important person I have ever had in this life..."

"So...you're going to stay with me?"

Her mouth curled into the most glorious smile I had ever seen. "Of course, silly lamb."

It was weird being called a lamb, especially after I'd seen what she could do with a rock and a poor attitude. "I guess that makes you a lion..."

Something mischievous crinkled her nose, without crinkling it. Her golden eyes gleamed darker, even when flooded with light from the sun beaming down on her face. "A sick, masochistic, lion..."

My hand brushed against my face, but it felt like someone else was controlling my movement. My face was numb, unable to feel the heat of my own fingers as I tried to shove hair behind my ear from the wind stirring it everywhere again. A part of me wanted to comment on what a 'stupid lamb' I was, but she'd been commenting on how stupid I was for the past few minutes...I really didn't want to hear her say it again.

"So..."

She chuckled, leaning closer, and I forgot how to breathe from her standing so very close to me. "So?" She parroted.

"When we...um...were in the truck…and you dove under the steering wheel?"

Her face seemed to flush without flushing again. Tilting her head, golden bronze hair showered over her face, blocking out the radiant sparkles from glistening so loudly. "Oh that..." She looked genuinely embarrassed, delightfully bashful, and I found myself melting as she brushed yards of shoulder-length bronze strands away from her face. "You caught me off guard – I wasn't expecting you to be so close..."

Understanding her words, in the very least the weight of them drowned me, I bit down on my tongue anxiously to give myself some courage to say what I needed to say. "Do you...not want to k-kiss me…anymore?"

Whether it was something in the bird-like way my head craned up to gaze into her eyes, or the thrumming of my heart in my chest, her face softened. "Stay perfectly still..."

Every muscle in my body complied. My heart thudded so painfully in my chest that I wasn't sure if it had turned into a hummingbird or stopped entirely – the blood in my ears deafening me to be able to hear anything. Even the stirring of the breeze around us seemed to make no noise.

Tentatively, Edythe moved one step closer. Her shoes only an inch from mine as she started to lean over. Eyes gleaming as freshly washed diamonds with trepidation. Mouth and brow too serious. Was I hot? Was I cold?

When her soft, marble, lips pressed softly against mine, I could swear it wasn't real. I'd dreamed so much of this moment that my mind flooded back to the only place where this kiss was possible. Desperately I wanted to move, even just by a decimal, to reassure myself that I wasn't making this up. Prove to myself that she wasn't my cold pillow in a very lucid hallucination.

I could feel her fingers carefully cradling the edges of my face. My eyes partially opened, and I watched her closed eyelids hovering before mine. It should have been more than enough to blissfully dream about forever. But I parted my lips, and for one mere moment her own folded over my lower lip.

In that moment, a gasp escaped me, and that one small gasp was all it took.

Snapping my eyes open – Edythe was nowhere to be seen. In the back of my mind, her absence seemed normal to me. That our kiss was only a figment in my head. It took a few seconds of feeling the sun beam down against me, the wind to stir through my hair again, to snap out of my daze and look around with panic.

"Edythe!" I shouted, but there was no answer. "Edythe?!"

Whirling around on the ball of one foot, badly balancing to stumble on my knees in the grass, I saw her at the far end of the field. Her back was too me, and from this distance it looked as though she had her fist pressed firmly against her mouth. She looked bent over, tortured, or in pain.

"Edythe!" I called to her, and I saw her start to turn – glistening in the distance like an oracle of light.

Even knowing I was the cause of her suffering, that she might ultimately destroy me, I wobbled to stand. My heart beat raggedly in my chest. The idea of her being in pain, and alone, was too unbearable to cope with. Nothing was more important than making it to her, seeing if she was alright. I didn't have to walk very far, one step – maybe two, in the grass and she was there.

Blinking far too much from shock, frightened at how fast she had traveled even though I'd seen it happen a handful of times today, I stopped. One hand on my chest as if that could possibly keep my heart rate from exploding.

"Forgive me..." She began, walking closer until her fingertips were on my shoulders. Both of her artist's hands holding me steady.

I was panting too much to speak, my body trembling from the chill inside me. Her cold hands stayed on my shoulders, but still – I wheezed my breath.77

"Would you...understand, if I said I was only human?" She teased as she raised her hands to softly cup the sides of my face.

"Y-yeah," I laughed, and it burned my lungs.

She must have seen my face wince, as worry contorted her pale features. "Please trust...that I want to be close to you. To...kiss you. Tis simply too much to...rush the process."

Did that mean we would never be able to kiss each other? The deep way that lovers shared in books or movies? The worry prickled at me, but it was a background concern. She was here, I could feel her touching me, she wanted to be near me. What more mattered?

"T-this is fine, if-if you're alright?"

She chuckled mischievously at me, her mouth curling almost darkly. "I very nearly devoured your lip, and you're worried about me..." She shook her head at me, chidingly. "My silly, silly, lamb."

"Y-Yeah, I guess I am..." I said, groaning inwardly, though hardly from the fear of her biting off my lip. "A-are you alright though?"

Her fingers tentatively brushed against my cheeks. "I am," she promised. "I am grateful I could still myself...I feared my resolve was found wanting...but here we are..."

"H-here we are," I whispered, mesmerized by the radiance of her face in the sun, her hands against my face.

"Remain very still...I wish to, amend myself," she besought, and I desperately swallowed the fluid in my throat. Was she going to kiss me again?

Hope filled me as she leaned forward, only to feel her press the side of her perfectly sculpted nose along the edge of my neck. Feeling her cool face along the edge of my throat made shivers rush down to my toes. My eyes forcibly closed from the fear of what I might see if she lost control again – because I couldn't stop my heart from rushing faster. She stayed very calm, pressing her cheek against my neck. Resting her head against my shoulder as she brushed her lips against my skin.

Despite her needing to bend, with being half a head taller than me, her arms folded around me. Such a potent wave of safety overshadowed me as she held me – no doubt listening to my silly heart fumbling inside my chest.

Unable to resist, I slid my arms around her – hand moving higher along her spine. Combing my fingers through her glistening hair, soft as silk, even as I guessed that her hair could probably bend metal if she wanted them too. Exhilaration flew through me as I felt her smile against my neck.

"So warm..." she muttered softly. Her voice thrumming along the skin under my ear was almost too much for me – I trembled to resist the gasp that threatened to build – the gasp that might send her across the field again. "Feel my face..."

Leaning back as she did, gazing at her exquisite golden eyes, my hand moved of it's own accord. Sliding away from the jungle of her fine hair to caress her face. The place where she had been resting against my neck was warmer, less like a silken counter top, and more like my pillow when I held it too long.

My face instantly flushed. "Y-you are warm. W-well, warmer."

Deviousness glinted in her eyes. "What?"

Terror of an entirely selfish kind crippled me from coherent speech. I blubbered out syllables with no meaning. "N-nothing," I finally squeaked.

"Tell me," Edythe beckoned, but for once I couldn't bear to tell her.

"I..."

Her temple pressed against my own. "Tell me..."

I swallowed jaggedly. "Y-you're very soft..."

She smirked, her fingers cradling my waist as she kept watching me. "I enjoy watching you blush…I hope you don't mind my teasing you."

My face still burned, I could feel the blood tickling my cheeks. "If it did, would you stop?"

Her delightfully devilish smirk was all the answer I needed; but, still she spoke. "Mmm…no. Probably not."

"It's not fair."

She scoffed, and it came out like a melodic snicker. "Oh, if life was fair, I would not have been born a woman..."

I felt the same way, but hearing her say it struck me. The words flew out of me in an instant. "I don't care that you're a woman..."

She looked away, down at the field of wildflowers around us. "Don't you?…You couldn't kiss me, when I asked you to."

"Only because I can't bear to lose you..." Whether it was from being held, or having said so much together here in the meadow, confidence girded me. "I feel like if everyone saw us kiss, they'd make you go away."

Her eyes softened with understanding, but all I could feel was the way her thumb brushed against my cheekbone. "They probably would..."

Her reflection became mildly distorted, every shimmer of sun against her skin dissolved into one giant blur of light from the fluid welling up in my eyes. "Then...why did you ask me to?"

She bit down on her lip with guilt. "I mentioned before, that you are safest away from me...if I must be parted from you, I thought that one last kiss might…soften the rending of your absence."

"Are – Are you going to leave if everyone finds out?" Water burned in my eyes now, stinging like sharpened nettles.

Her lips pressed against my face, my cheekbones, even as I could feel her trembling from the difficulty of doing so. "If I must."

"P- _Please_ don't go," I begged. "Please don't speak of leaving again..."

Her temple pressed against my own again; the side of her nose brushing along my skin. Her lips found mine, but she only slowly pecked before she leaned her face away. No longer breathing from the difficulty our closeness caused her. She didn't answer me, only caressed her hand over my back; careful not to press her chest against my own.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to upset you." Her lips pressed to my forehead, and she kissed very softly before she withdrew to observe me. Soft fingertips pressing under my eyes to brush away the residual fluid threatening to fall. "I am building up quite an immunity to you, Bella. Albeit, when we part, I must start all over again."

"W-would it be easier for you...if we were never apart?" My soul pleaded within me, that she wouldn't think I was being creepy or clingy to suggest such a thing.

She smiled bemusedly. "Perhaps, but that would hardly be appropriate.."

I flushed, knowing exactly what she meant by those words – or assuming enough to think that maybe she -had- seen me with my pillow. A very strong part of me wanted to die at the thought. "N-No, I guess not."

She slid her hands away from me, to slip them into her jean pockets. "If I stayed with you always, it might only be a short time before we were discovered."

My hands copied her, but I couldn't bear to move away from her. "Then we'll be careful at school...after we graduate, I don't think it'll matter so much."

Edythe nodded; but, her eyes were heavy. She kept looking down, at the meadow. "Let's sit down..."

Those words felt so ominous, but as she led me to a dry place at the center of the meadow, her golden eyes only glistened with affection. She sat down first, and I followed her. Laying down over the bed of wildflowers, softer than any grass I could remember laying on, I watched as she turned on her side to be closer to me. Reaching out, unable to deny myself, I brushed locks of her radiant hair away from her face. At first trying to tuck them behind her ear, her hair was so soft that I found myself combing my fingers through her hair for the mere pleasure of it.

Her mouth curled into her devastating crooked smile as she watched my face. "You can't imagine how good that feels."

My face felt fuzzy, I'd blushed so many times today I could hardly tell, much less stop it, if I was doing it again. "Oh?"

She chuckled at me, reaching out to press her hand against my face. "We experience everything with such enhanced sensitivity, I wish I could explain it."

Vibrations flooded everywhere as her fingers held my cheek. The sensation brought with it a burning need to know if she felt things the way I did sometimes. "Edythe, do you..." I began, but cowardice halted me.

When I didn't elaborate, she tilted her head at me and propped her head up on one arm to better survey my face. "Do I, what?"

Without worry of dirt or bugs in the meadow, I lay my head down on the grass and stared into her eyes. "Do you..." How does one even word this? "Do you still feel things, the human way?"

"You shall have to elaborate, I fear I don't quite understand you.."

I swallowed uncomfortably. "Do you feel...um...d- _desire_ or-"

"Oh," She interjected, looking more devious than someone caught off guard should be. "You're asking if I... _want_ you."

I answered, even though I was certain that she didn't need me to. "Uhm. Yes...do you still... _want_ someone...physically? Or does – being a vampire – mean you only want me...emotionally…?"

The more I talked, the more formidable her dark grin became. Pure maliciousness gleaming over her devilishly gorgeous face. The more I fumbled, the greater her victory, and just when I didn't think I could take being hunted by the sheer force of her impenetrable eyes – she reached out and touched my arm. I felt so strangely hot and woozy; my blush sinking to other places I was too embarrassed to think about.

Her thumb barely grazed along my forearm, sending raindrops of shivering lukewarm chills all over my body. I could tell she knew how that effected me, but that didn't stop her fingers from feathering over my skin.

"I cannot remember my human life enough to say if what I feel now is terribly different than what I would have felt before...but to answer your question as to if I desire you _physically_ as a vampire..." She stopped touching my arm, sliding her fingers to hold my hand and interweave our fingers. "I do."

wind stirred our hair, and hit with the full wave of her exhilarating scent, my heart fluttered endlessly. "Y-you do..."

My whisper must have amused her, as her mouth curled darkly again. "I have been Seventeen for one hundred years, Bella, it would be a lie to say I have never felt _desire_ before..." she began, her fingers unlocking from my own to brush loose strands of hair away from my face. "But, never a yearning such as this..."

Her confession dazed me into a euphoric state, I was so happy that my bliss transcended words. There was nothing I felt I could say to express how her words made me feel. Everything bubbled joyously inside me, and without dwelling on the risk I leaned forward.

Her middle and pointer fingers pressed against my lips to halt me, disappointment waning the embers which had nearly set fire inside of me.

"Bella...I can scarcely kiss you. Even laying her beside you is...difficult for me.." She slid her fingers from my lips, holding my hand carefully within her own. "My desire to...kiss you, hold you...is almost as potent as the thirst for your blood...I cannot afford to ever lose control of myself with you."

I swallowed. "Do you think...someday...we might?"

Her eyes ached in grief at my question. "Is it terribly important to you that we do?" She began. "Might you forsake me...if we cannot _entangle_ in that manner..."

"Never, Edythe!" Her question sucked the air out of my lungs, it ached even to breathe that she might feel that way. "Please don't ever say that!"

Relief tempered the pain in her eyes, but not enough to remove her pangs completely. "I am so much more beautiful than I ever could have been as a human...I can understand why you desire me so readily."

Why did her words rend holes in me? It felt like cold blood was pooling out from lacerations in my chest. "Edythe..." I wished I couldn't breathe. Hyperventilating hurt, and I could not stop myself from gasping. "Is that really how you f-feel? Th-that I care for you because of your looks?"

Guilt plucked at her eyelashes, rendering mercy from me that kept my anger from rising to boiling levels. "If our roles were reversed, would the question not vex you?"

Unable to argue with that, my anger melted into an uneasy bitterness. "Yes. I can't say I'm any better than you are..." I reassured, reaching up to touch her face and hold her lukewarm cheek in my palm. "But your looks are only a piece of you...your brothers and sisters, even your father, are just as gorgeous, and I feel nothing but friendship for them."

Suddenly she was over me; arms and legs surrounding me. In a cage of limbs, with her chest hovering over my own, the stirring ache I felt to wrap my thighs around her and surrender to a thousand heady kisses overwhelmed me. Instead of acting, I drowned – panting exhaustively from trying to hold back from collapsing my lips against her perfect mouth. Time stopped, her unearthly speed gone unnoticed as she watched me.

"Truly? You feel no desire for any of them..." She began, her hair tickling my face as it draped around me; veiling us from the sparkling sun.

"Y- _yes_."

"Even Rosalie?..."

The suddenness of the question floored me – could she really have thought I liked Rose that way? It was rather hypocritical, after all, I had been jealous of Rose for the same reason! But I wasn't about to admit that out loud.

"Y-yes – I don't _want_ Rosalie...I've never wanted _anyone_ else."

Her grin was almost goofy as it smacked over her face. She laughed, from the overflow of happiness, and dipped down to press her lips against me. I kissed her delicately back, and when she withdrew – I noticed her chest wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing, her arms tight and her hands no doubt squeezed into fists on either side of me. Something snapped beside my ear, panicking me to gasp, and she was gone.

Six feet away, dusting the crumbs of a broken rock that must have been beside me. She'd squeezed it like a lemon in her palm, and I found myself hotly swimming in delirium from the ghostly remembrance of her lips against mine. A moment later, she was beside me, and the unearthly swiftness spun me for a whirl.

"Do you always move this fast when I'm not looking?"

She grinned. "Verily. It's very easy to be myself around you," She explained as she walked back beside me and lay down on the grass. "Does it bother you?"

A chuckle escaped me, and I found myself resting my cheek against her shoulder; mouth facing down so I wasn't breathing on her face. "No, but I wonder how you can move so fast, when it's so hard for you to do other things around me...Doesn't the exertion...make it harder?"

She let out a soft hum, her arm folding around me. Raising up to caress her fingers through my hair. "No, running is second nature to me. I don't need to breathe to run or move. To speak, to _kiss you_ ,I have to draw breath."

I pondered her words, closing my eyes as her fingers continued to comb through my hair; run over my scalp. "So, it's like what you said about hunting. You give in to your senses when we kiss."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Hardly to the same degree, but yes."

I hummed thoughtfully, relaxing as her fingertips caressed along my scalp. She wasn't breathing, she wasn't wholly cold. My body must have been warming her, or prolonged time in the sun. The sweet radiant sun that paled in comparison to Edythe.

Eventually, I opened my eyes, watching her glisten in the light like a thousand diamonds. Her lips were twitching again – moving so fast that they looked like they were trembling. Content to lay in silence just to soak in her presence in this beautiful meadow, finally my curiosity was too great to ignore.

I wet my lips before I spoke. "Edythe, what are you doing?"

Her mouth stopped twitching, the corner curling into a mordant smile. "Singing..."

"What are you singing?" I couldn't hear her words at all – or any sound, for that matter.

"Nothing in particular," She began to say. "Your heartbeat is very easy to sing to."

Feeling my face burn like a tomato, I tried to change the subject. "A-Alice says you play the piano."

"Did she, now?" She mused. "Pray, what else did Alice tell you?"

Oh no! I did – not – want to get Alice in trouble. "Only that you haven't played in a while, b-but you have been playing more since we met..."

Edythe turned to look at me, probing me thoughtfully with her gaze. "Are you asking to hear me play?"

"Sure," I stammered. "If you want to, I mean."

She grinned mischievously at me. "I am not embarrassed to play for you, I used to perform quite often," she paused. "However..."

Her word hung on the edge of a knife, and I found myself nibbling my lip in interest. "Yes?"

She caressed her fingers through my hair to free them, resting her arm on her side as she studied me. "My piano is at our family house..." She paused, speaking when I didn't answer. "I insist that you meet my parents first..."

My stomach instantly knotted into a honeyed glob of butterflies.

With the same astonishing grace that often left me in awe, Edythe stood and outstretched her perfectly feminine fingers toward me. "Shall we, then?"

Her hand, suspended toward me, beckoned incandescently in the sun.


	15. Chapter Fourteen - Ever After

Apologies for how long it took for me to get this chapter out - real life took me by the horns for a little while. Also, tomorrow is my birthday and I'll be 30 years old, so that's been weighing pretty heavily on my mind, haha. I wanted to thank you all for making your reviews, I care about each of you readers - known or anonymous. They help give ideas, and when I'm done, I have plenty of suggestions on which stories to read next that I am looking forward to reading down the road. A part of me wanted to make this chapter longer; but, I felt it best to pause here before the story got too long - as the next part might end up being twice as long as this one. If you have any requests for me to read a story, by all means PM me if possible, and I'll add any Twilight related fanfiction recommendations to the front page of this story~

Much love, B.R. Enjoy the read!

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

It seemed too great a shame to leave the meadow now that I had been brought here. For a moment I hesitated, watching the sun glimmer over Edythe's sparkling hand as she held it outstretched for me to take it. Seated on a bed of soft, dry, grass – with the fondest beams of sunlight pouring down on me – the temptation to stay until sunset beckoned me. Urged me with almost the same potency as her strong, feminine, fingers. It wasn't a question of whether I could resist, only for how long I could still myself from action. Which was when the realization struck me.

"Wait."

Edythe tilted her head in the sun, her golden-bronze hair glistening radiantly. "Is something wrong?"

Swallowing, I glanced down at myself. "I'm…I'm really not dressed to meet your parents, yet."

The laugh that bellowed out of Edythe's perfect mouth could have softened the hardest of souls, and yet it irritated me. "Truly? Is that the only reason?"

My upper lip curled into a snarl before I could control my rage. "I know you think this is funny; but, I'm being serious – I'm not going to go see your parents when I'm covered in dirt and stuff."

Edythe sighed, but the humor wasn't wholly gone from her eyes. "If you insist, we can go to your home first; but, Alice has a plethora of dresses at her disposal. I am certain she shall be more than eager to help you."

Her fingers outstretched before me again, but I kept my hands in my lap. "I'm not using the shower at your house!"

Both of her hands raised up, held in a form of surrender. "Fine, fine, we should have plenty of time to make you presentable before Carlisle gets home from the hospital."

Remembering our long trek up the mountain to get to this meadow, I cringed. "How? It's another four hours back down the hill."

Edythe smirked. "Hmm, not if we go down the mountain 'my way'." She saw my bewilderment and elaborated. "You needn't worry, you shall be very safe." Her mouth twitched up into that crooked smile that was so beautiful that my heart nearly stopped.

"...Define 'my way'? Are you going to turn into a bat?"

The laugh funneling from her nose sounded more like an orchestral crescendo than a snort. "Good God, no! Whoever came up with that myth was on some 'special medicine'."

"Pity, I bet you would make an adorable bat," I countered as I warily reached forward to grasp her incandescent hand. Her fingers gently folded around my own, and I rose to my feet beside her.

"You shan't delay the inevitable with me, Bella, I'm very proud of my swiftness," she mentioned, dipping down on one knee and patting her shoulder expectantly. "Come, climb onto my back."

I waited to see if she was kidding; but, apparently she meant it. She was going to carry me down the mountain. Edythe smiled warmly as she read my hesitation, and outstretched her hand toward me again. My heart reacted; even though she couldn't hear my thoughts, my throbbing pulse gave me away.

Edythe proceeded to sling me onto her back, with very little conscious effort on my part, until my arms were around her shoulders and my thighs were wrapped around her hips. Too nervous for the roller coaster I was sure to experience, my arms and legs clamped around her so tightly that I worried I might choke her had she been a normal person. She felt like clinging a giant, soft, boulder. In the back of my mind, I was vaguely aware of how my chest and other inaccessible areas were squeezed tight against her body, but the fear of what was to come kept me from being able to focus on it.

"Hold on tight, spider monkey," Edythe teased, and I could swear I audibly groaned.

"Are you – sure – this is a good idea?" I squeaked.

"Ha!" She snorted. I could almost hear her eyes rolling as she shook her head gently in front of me; tickling my nose with her luxurious hair. I'd never seen her in such high spirits before, and if not for the intensity of the blissful perfume in front of my nose, I might have absorbed some of her gladness.

"I'm not going to break, grip me tighter," she commanded.

My arms and legs obliged, squeezing so hard that I could almost hear the phantom sound of glass breaking inside my head.

As soon as she felt my hold tighten, the world around us blurred.

If I had ever feared death before in her presence, it was nothing compared to how I felt once the meadow vanished. She streaked through the dark, thick, underbrush of the forest like a bullet – like a ghost. There was no sound I could hear, no evidence even that her feet even touched the ground. Her breathing never changed, never indicated any effort on her part to keep running, and yet the trees flew by us at deadly speeds. Always missing us by mere inches.

Too terrified to stop watching the world flit past us, even as the cool forest air whipped against my face, my eyes began to sting. I felt as though I was a dog sticking my head out the window of an airplane mid-flight. For the first time in my life, the dizzy faintness of motion sickness fell over me in a wave.

Altogether too suddenly, it was over. In a matter of mere minutes, we were back to my truck.

"Exhilarating, is it not?!" Her voice was so high and excited. She stood motionless, as though waiting for me to climb down on my own. I tried, in all flimsiness, but my muscles refused to respond. My arms and legs stayed locked around her while my head spun uncomfortably in heady circles.

"Bella?" She asked, her voice drenched with anxiety.

"I think...I need...lay down..." I fuzzily gasped.

"Oh, dearest, forgive me," she sank down to her knees and leaned back. She waited for my hands to let go of her shoulders; but, I still couldn't move.

"Help..." I whispered in shame.

Attempting to laugh quietly, to try and ease my anxiety, she gently loosened my stranglehold on her neck. There was no resisting the iron strength of her fingers, and as soon as she plucked my hands from her skin, I was sure I'd plop down on the ground behind her. Instead, she pulled me around to face her; cradling me in her arms like a small child. She held me for several breaths, then carefully set me down on some springy ferns beside the 'road'.

Panting, unable to speak, I watched her hand slide across my forehead. Her fingers acting as a cold compress which delicately scratched through my hair. "Bella, are you alright?"

I couldn't be sure how I felt, my head was still spinning crazily. Reminding me of a magic eight ball that was shaken with such vivacity that it was unable to produce a viable answer.

"Dizzy..." I mumbled.

"Here, set your head between your knees a few moments," Edythe entreated.

I tried, with her help to lead me, and it helped a little. I breathed in and out slowly, keeping my head very still. I felt her sit down beside me, and the moments passed. Eventually, I found I could raise my head – though there was a hollow, ringing, sound in my ears. Like popcorn about to burst.

"Perhaps I was a mite foolhardy," she mused.

Attempting to be positive, my weak voice was cheerfully wavering. "N-No, it was...interesting."

"Bella, you're whiter than I am."

"I think I should have...closed my eyes, after all..."

A wry smile curled over her mouth. "We shall have to remember that for next time."

I groaned, from both my lips and my stomach. "Next time?!"

Mischief rang in the laugh that sputtered from her, her mood decadently radiant. "You cannot expect me to – always – be slow…"

"Please stay a bit slower when carrying me, for a while..."

"Of course, of course," she hummed as her hand caressed down my spine. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A bit," I encouraged.

Before I could protest, she had raised me in her arms. Holding me as a small child against her chest as she walked toward the Beast. It was strange how weightless I felt in her arms, like she was floating over dirt and pebbles. It felt like a pleasing dream, or being rocked to sleep as I had been when I was a baby. A drop of water touched my face before the driver's door opened, and she laid me down with my head in the passenger seat. Sliding into the driver's seat with my legs resting semi-comfortably on her lap.

"Stay down, please," she mentioned with gentle forcefulness when I tried to sit back up.

Her hand stayed pressed against my stomach, and still woozy from the wild sprint down the mountain, I acquiesced.

She could drive well, I had to admit to myself. Like so many things, it seemed to be effortless for her. She barely looked at the road, yet the drive felt so blissfully at ease. My brain remembered my early years in California, before I was seven and we moved to Phoenix, when mom and I spent time in the lazy river at a water-park. You could just lay on an inflatable doughnut and be carried down the current without a care in the world. Trees drifted by overhead, but I wasn't looking at them. Edythe had her eyes worriedly gazing at me, smiling when I smiled at her; Vivaciously happy as color returned to my face.

"You like fifties music?" I finally asked, as she had been singing the lyrics to the oldies station I must have left the radio on. She knew every line, and it had surprised me enough to comment on it.

"Mhm, music in the fifties was good – much better than most of the sixties. Or the seventies, ugh," she teased with a playful shudder. "The eighties were bearable to me; but, then, you already know that." Edythe commented, and my hazy mind jumped like wildfire to the question burning on the forefront of my mind.

"Hey Edythe..." I began. "How um...how old are you?" I brought up tentatively, a bit worried that I might upset her buoyant spirits.

She scowled lovingly at me, even as her eyes were uncomfortable. "Does it matter?"

"No, but I would like to know more about you."

She relented, with a soft sigh escaping her lips. "I simply wonder if the answer will upset you..." she mentioned as the radio silenced. She gazed into the sun; minutes passing by as I trusted her promise of keeping the speed limit.

"Try me?" I finally dared, encouragingly.

She gazed back into my eyes, forgetting the road completely for a time. Whatever she saw looming over my irises seemed to encourage her, and she began. The light of the setting sun glittered over her skin in ruby-tinged sparkles as she spoke.

"Well, I was born in Chicago in 1901 on June twentieth," she paused, and I could feel her watching me from the corner of her eyes. I tried my best to carefully veil my surprise, impatient to hear more from her. She gave me a tiny smile, and continued. "Carlisle found me, and my parents, in the summer of 1918. I was seventeen, and dying of Spanish Influenza."

She must have heard my intake of breath, though it was barely audible to my own ears. She looked down into my eyes with concern drenching her golden irises.

"I barely remember it, much less remember it well – twas a very long time ago, and human memories fade." She was lost in her thoughts for a short time before she went further. "I do remember how it felt...when Carlisle saved me. It's not something easy to forget. The burning..."

"What happened to your parents?" I had to ask, even if she had mentioned it before, my hazy brain couldn't remember.

"They had already been taken by the disease. That was why he chose me. In the chaos of the epidemic, no one would ever realize I was gone."

She appeared so forlorn, it hurt me, and yet I could not deny myself from asking. "How did he…save you?"

The texture of the atmosphere changing around me was almost tangibly cold. She was searching for the right words to use, as though she hoped I might never have asked that question. "It was difficult. Not many of us have the restraint necessary to accomplish the task. It was truly excruciating." Watching the way her lips hardened into a flat line on the subject, I knew she had no desire to tell me more on how she became a vampire. I suppressed my curiosity, though it was far from satiated. There were many things I needed to think through on this particular issue, things that were only beginning to occur to me. No doubt her quick mind already comprehended every aspect that eluded me, even if she wasn't aware of it herself.

Her soft voice interrupted my thoughts. "Carlisle has always been the most...humane, of our kind. The most compassionate man I can remember knowing. He acted from loneliness, in saving me. That is usually the reason behind the choice to alter anyone. I was the first in his family, after all, though Esme was changed a few years after…She...she _fell_ from a cliff. They brought her straight to the hospital morgue. Somehow her heart was still beating..."

She trailed off; but, I didn't speak and so she continued further. "Carlisle says he knew her, from when she was a child, he couldn't bear to see her perish," She wet her lips, then dryly laughed under her breath. "I never understood what he meant...until now."

"What do you mean?"

She reached over to gently tap the tip of her pointer finger against my nose, and I felt unbearably foolish to have asked such a question. "When I saw the van coming for you...I thought 'not her, not her'. I couldn't bear the idea of being in a world where you didn't exist...I suppose on some level he felt that way for Esme, because eventually they fell in love, married, and they've been faithfully happy ever since."

The story both touched and wounded me. Transfixed on trying to discover why it was that story hurt me, the stinging in my chest became unbearable, and I decided to focus on a less dangerous question. "So…does a person have to be dying? To become...what you are?" We so rarely said the word, and I couldn't bring myself to pronounce it now.

"No, that's just Carlisle. He would never alter someone who had another choice." The respect seeping through her voice was so profound whenever she spoke of her father figure. "It is easier, he mentioned, when the blood is weak." She kept her gaze, hard and cold, on the road in front of us, and I could feel the subject closing up again.

"Are there...a lot? Of your kind?" I asked, wetting my lips as I felt the car gingerly turn a corner.

"No, not many, and most never settle together in one place as we do. Only those who chose to..." she struggled for the words. "Forsake the 'usual diet' can afford to live together with humans for any length of time. We found another family like our own, in a small village in Alaska. We lived with them for a time, but, there were so many of us that we became too noticeable."

"So, most of your kind are nomads? Hippies?"

She chuckled gaily, crinkling her nose playfully at me. "Hardly peace-loving creatures; but, we've all lived that way sometimes. It becomes very tedious, like anything else. But we run across them now and again."

There was so much to think about, so much I yearned too badly to ask. But, to my great embarrassment, my stomach growled. I had been so intrigued, so enraptured by her tale, that I hadn't noticed how hungry I was. Fully aware of the pangs squeezing my stomach, I realized now how ravenous I was. Which, thankfully, was when the Beast slowed to an easy stop – presumably in front of my house.

"Forgive me, I kept you in the meadow too long..."

"I'm alright, really," I reassured as I sat up. Carefully maneuvering so my back was against the passenger seat and my feet were tapping down on the floorboard in front of me. If not for Edythe's help, I may have kicked the rear-view mirror out of sync.

She chuckled at me, and I flushed. "I have never spent quite so much time around anyone who still eats 'food'. I forget these simple things."

"I can get a snack inside, before we go."

"Go?" She asked; astonished. "Are you certain you are still feeling up to going tonight?"

I reached out for her hand, and she didn't stop me from squeezing her fingers. "Crystal," I reassured. "I won't be very long."

"May I wait inside?"

Her question stunned me, and I found my eyes excessively blinking from the surprise. "Sure you can, I just...didn't think you wanted to."

"Yes, if it doesn't unsettle you," she obliged, and I heard the door ache as I opened it. Almost simultaneously, she was outside my door, opening it the rest of the way for me.

"You know, I do have neighbors."

She smirked as she walked so quietly beside me that I had to peek at her constantly to be assured that she was still there. In the darkness of a cloudy day, she looked much more normal. Still pale, dreamlike in her beauty, but no longer the fantastic sparkling creature of our sunlit afternoon. How long had we been in the meadow? Surely the day hadn't passed already, and yet it felt so dark out.

She reached the door ahead of me, and opened it for me. Stunned, I paused half-way through the threshold.

"Did I leave the door unlocked?"

She blushed without turning red, if that was possible. "No, I – I used the key from under the eave."

That should have bothered me; but, I blinked my concern away. Stepping inside, I flicked on the porch light, and glanced at her in perplexity. Surely I had never used the emergency key in front of her before…I couldn't be sure how long I stood there, but finally she spoke.

"I am...very curious about you."

"Did you...spy on me?" I demanded; but, I somehow couldn't instill my voice with the proper outrage. I felt flattered, confused, that she cared that much about me.

At any rate, she was wholly unrepentant. "I do believe we are here so you can get ready for the dance?"

My face instantly froze. "What..."

She grinned deviously, shaking her head as she laughed. "Forgive me, you're too easy to tease. To meet my parents, of course."

Unable to resist, and knowing full well that my karate-grip on her throat had done nothing to her, I softly punched her in the upper arm. "Don't joke like that."

Apologetic, even as the mischief kept dancing in her eyes, she nodded. "Alright, not one more word on the dance."

My shoulders relaxed, I had no idea how tense they had become until I breathed with relief. "Good."

She sat down in the very chair I'd tried so hard to picture her in. Her beauty lighting up the kitchen more thoroughly than the yellow cabinets could ever be able to do. I didn't notice how she needed no guide to find the kitchen, much less sit down at the unused chair. It was a long moment before I could even look away from her.

"Go on, I'll be here," she reassured.

"You don't want to come up with me?" The look she bore at me explained without the need for a verbal answer. "Ah, right. Not appropriate."

"Mhm. Don't take too long, Ms. Swan."

A part of me wanted to know what would happen if I took too long getting ready; but, the fear of finding out the answer kept me from active defiance. I rushed up the stairs as quickly as I could without running, and vanished into my room.

Looking at the door constantly, Edythe never emerged through the doorway, or came upstairs to watch me. Once, when I had picked a suitable outfit, I crept along the hallway to peer down the stairs to the kitchen. I only saw her shoe out of the corner of my eye, but she heard me.

Clearing her throat, the noise startled me and I rushed into the upstairs bathroom. Discarding my olive polo and jeans into the laundry basket, I locked the door and turned on the shower. Only to fearfully, and timidly, creep forward to unlock the door again. Was I a pervert? No; but, if she wanted to join me, I really didn't want to stop her, either.

In a rush to be clean, to get this meeting with her parents over with, I just focused on shampoo and conditioner. Squeezing the water from my hair, my thoughts kept drifting to why Edythe never joined me in the shower. True, I hadn't expected she would, but it didn't stop the hope inside me. A hope that shamed me, and I tried my best to push that subject from my mind. We couldn't 'entangle' that way.

Drying off and dressing, I thought I heard muted talking from downstairs. Deciding it was my nerves, as there was no way I would be able to hear the television from up here in the bathroom, I brushed my hair and slipped back into clean underthings. The shirt I had chosen was a dark navy turtleneck, which went fairly well with a beige corduroy pencil skirt that Alice had left for me. Socks and sneakers didn't exactly make the outfit shine; but, I didn't want to wear any heels Alice had left for me. Not when it was going to be night soon, and I had a hard enough time not tripping as it was. I was near the stairs when I heard them talking, and I stopped to eavesdrop before I could be caught.

"How was your day, Mr. Swan?" Edythe's voice was warm and pleasing. I missed it so much while I was getting ready that it ached to hear her speak again.

An awkward laugh followed. "Please, call me Charlie. And good – the fish were biting, but most of the catch went home in my friend Walon's cooler."

"I'm sure Bella can find all manner of ways to cook your catch, Mr. Swan – pardon me, Charlie."

Charlie laughed. "Heh, she sure can. That's for sure." He paused, and presumably looked about awkwardly; I couldn't see him from my vantage point. "So, are you gals headed to the dance?"

Oh no! What was it about that dance that was so important, anyway?! Panic filled me, but I was dying to hear what Edythe would say about it – even as my heart thudded loudly in terror within me.

"Would it…bother you? If I escorted Bella to the dance tonight?"

Charlie was oblivious, bless his heart. "Uh, no, not really. But, I'd feel better if she went with a boy to the dance. I worry that girl's gonna end up alone, like me, if she doesn't put herself out there sometime."

What a weird thing for any father to say! Wasn't it like the perfect dream for – any dad – to have their daughter hold off on chasing boys til they were out of the house in college?

"I see."

I could feel it in my bones that Charlie's words hurt Edythe. Even if I was wrong, I couldn't bear to have her stew in any doubt she didn't need to go through. I intentionally banged my feet down the stairs to drop the subject from happening further. Only to stand still at the shock on Charlie and Edythe's faces when they saw what I was wearing.

"Well, don't you look pretty, Bells."

I smiled awkwardly at my father. "Thanks, Dad."

Turning my gaze to Edythe, she looked stunned; breathless. I couldn't understand what it was about this outfit that made her look so transfixed. Finally, she snapped out of it enough to speak. "Yes, pretty. Now that you're not covered in mud."

Charlie raised an eyebrow, and I flushed with embarrassment. "Edythe thought it would be fun to hike..."

Charlie immediately turned his gaze to Edythe. "You got Bella to hike?" He asked with astonishment.

"If one can call walking down a pathway 'hiking', Mr. Swan," she teased, before clearing her throat at her mistake." – Charlie." She was so befuddled and embarrassed, it was like watching a worm squirm in the sun.

Charlie was thankfully too amused, at the idea of his daughter stumbling in mud, to be offended by the overly polite antics of a hundred year old teenager. "So, what are you gals up to, now?"

Edythe cleared her throat ever so slightly, and lied through her teeth so skillfully that it squeezed my stomach. "My sister Alice, Bella, and I were going to have a sleepover at my house tonight. I thought we would watch a movie until Alice picks us up."

Charlie guffawed. "So you're not going to the dance, either, Edythe?"

Unwilling to keep watching Edythe squirm, I coughed and lovingly shoved Charlie's arm. "Dad – seriously, drop it," I said with more playfulness than I felt. Genuinely irritated at his inability to let that topic die a natural death.

It worked; but, now he was gazing at Edythe with a worried, pitiable, look that made me regret not interjecting sooner. Like he thought something was wrong with Edythe, and I couldn't bear it.

"My date caught the flu, unfortunately, so Bella suggested a girl's night."

"Ah, well, there's always Prom," Charlie reassured, very much weirded-out by the continued 'dance' conversation. He could only feign interest in dances for so long. It must be very hard having a teenage girl, I mused to myself. Trying to show you cared about their day to day activities, without being weird about it, was something very few parents were able to muster. Much less Charlie, of all people.

"So, are you staying for dinner, Edythe?"

Her mouth hung half-open in surprise before she shook her head mildly at Charlie. "We were going to eat at my house, but, if Bella doesn't mind..." She looked at me.

"Don't worry about cooking' Bells, I'll order us a pizza. Pick any movie you gals like while I make the call," Charlie insisted – like he was so enthused I had a friend over that he didn't care about missing his basketball game.

"Um, sure, dad," I said, on autopilot, too dazed from his unusual behavior to have anything else to say.

Once Charlie was gone, I felt Edythe touch my elbow, and shivers rushed all over me. She barely tapped over my sweater, and it made no logical sense to be so deliciously woozy. It was enough to spur me to move, and we walked to the living room in silence. My face as red as a tomato, and hers as devious as a cat circling a mouse.

Soon my father was on the phone, ordering a pepperoni with black olives, and Edythe was thumbing her fingers over the vast collection of cassette tapes and DVDs. Softly humming to herself as she tapped a few titles and withdrew two VHS tapes from the library shelves.

"Ladies choice," Edythe insisted as she held the titles out in front of me.

I scowled playfully. "Age before..." I trailed off. She was both older – and – more beautiful than I was. I flushed with guilt at the stab to my own ego. "Um, that one."

She watched as I pointed to 'Ever After' starring Drew Barrymore as Danielle, or 'Cinderella'. Raising an eyebrow at the romantic chick-flick, she nodded with a drawl to her mouth. Shoving the tape into the mouth of our old VHS player. "Interesting choice."

"I'm really not up for Shakespeare in front of my dad," I whispered, turning around to see him still on the phone ordering pizza. Edythe slid 'Much Ado About Nothing' back into the movie library – which was so dusty that I wondered if the movie was still there from when I was three months old, or had been left there by Rachel or Rebecca or something. Ever After was a movie I'd loved when I was younger, proving to the world that I was – in fact – a girl. I couldn't remember if I'd brought this with me for one of my summer vacations here, or if Charlie had bought a copy knowing I loved it. Surely I had to have brought it over, Charlie never went to the movies.

Lost in my own thoughts, when the commercials began to play, I looked up to see that Edythe had already sat down on the couch. Without needing to ask, she sat opposite of Charlie's seat, and I moved to sit in the middle. Even as I knew we couldn't hold hands, my eyes drifted to her lap where her hands were comfortably nestled. Disappointment flooded me, but at least the couch was smaller than most. She was only an inch or two away from me, and it made the lack of touching her hand more bearable.

Heavy footsteps warned that the call was over, and I looked up to see my father watching the television. Squinting his eyes a bit to see what movie case was resting on top of the TV. "Huh, I thought you outgrew this one, Bells."

"Edythe picked it," I mumbled quietly, which wasn't completely a lie.

"I should have thought ahead to bring some tapes with me," Edythe confessed, her voice so warm and kind beside me.

"Yeah, I don't really watch much besides Sports." Charlie seemed fond of Edythe, and his eyes lit up with that crinkly smile. "Nothing you gals want to watch."

The couch squeaked its familiar croak as Charlie sat down next to me. I moved to press my thigh against Edythe's own so that we had more room. Four inches was awfully close to sit next to one's father, given our history. Edythe wasn't breathing, I could feel her become eerily still beside me from our closeness.

"Actually, I'm rather fond of the Mariners, Charlie," Edythe began, the movie beginning to play, but I was only pretending to watch it now. "My father gets us tickets to see them at Safeco Field. I think Ichiro Suzuki might help us place well this year, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again."

My father looked surprised. "Heh, one of Hargrove's better choices," he mentioned as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "The Mariners play tomorrow, if you want to come by and watch the game on our flat-screen?"

They might as well have been talking about alien code, I blinked as I glanced between them. Leaning far into the couch so they didn't have to loom over me to talk to each other.

"Sure, if my father doesn't have any plans tomorrow night," Edythe offered, and I felt a strange relief rush through me.

Ever After continued to play on the television, relaying the poor plight of a young girl who had been the gem of her father's eye. He remarried to give her a mother and sisters, only to presumably die of a heart attack while on horseback. Despite not having a bad relationship with Charlie, as a young child, I felt envious of the main character, Danielle. My father loved me, but he hadn't been there very often, either. Danielle's father often went away on business or trading, and I could easily identify with that. Being loved from afar.

Maybe Charlie would never be good at showing it, and we might never have the closeness that Danielle had with her father, but he did care a great deal about me.

"Gosh, Bells must have watched this thirty times one summer, Edythe," Charlie began. I uncomfortably cleared my throat, but he continued. "Made me sit here and watch at least nine of 'em," he laughed.

"It's a well-written story," Edythe praised, her fingers ever so slightly brushing against my arm under the guise of scratching her elbow. "Most 'fairy tales' are buttered up with false expectations or too gory for a mainstream audience to appreciate them."

"Hah!" Charlie guffawed. "That _Bambi_ –"

"Ahem" I cleared my throat. There was entirely too much talking going on during the movie,

Edythe chuckled quietly. "Sorry, Bella."

Charlie sighed under his breath, clearly not interested in watching a girly movie. "I think I'll go...give Billy a call," he mentioned before he got up from the couch, which squeaked in protest at his absence.

As soon as my father disappeared into the kitchen, Edythe's arm slid around my shoulder. "He really cares about you."

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Charlie's faint silhouette against the kitchen wall. His muffled voice was too blurred to hear over the movie; but, it sounded cheerful. "Yeah, he does."

Edythe pressed her lips to my cheekbone, the soft peck radiating all over me like rain. "He's worried you'll end up alone,"

I nodded. "Yeah, I...heard. From upstairs."

The light slowly waned from her eyes. "What else did you hear?"

Even though I knew my father couldn't hear us, I whispered. "About the dance."

Her eyes fell, and I glanced down to see her fidgeting with her hands. Her arm no longer around my shoulder. "I see."

Reaching out, I rested my hand over her own and squeezed.

She wouldn't look at me, only dipped her head to let her hair cover her face. "If you didn't loathe dancing, I would have asked you..." She started to say, but trailed off as though her mouth was dry.

Biting down on my lip, I sighed softly with exasperation as my cheeks began to burn. "I don't...totally hate dancing."

Her face lit up with confusion, and she raised her head enough for her hair to frame her face again. "Then why lie to Charlie and your friends?"

A laugh broke from me, disheveled as it was. "Because I suck at it. Believe me – I tried ballet when I was younger – I went through my whole 'princess' phase. I just broke my arm from rolling off stage during the recital."

Edythe didn't seem to realize I was being sarcastic. Worry dampened her beautiful eyes as she studied me. "Oh, Bella…I am sorry you suffered so," she brushed her fingers through my hair thoughtfully. Her eyes drifting back to the screen before a tiny smile curled her mouth. "But you know, Danielle never danced at her masque ball, and she made quite the impression."

A small snicker croaked from my lips. "Really? Are you using a movie to comfort me?"

She grinned broadly enough to show her pearly whites. "When it's your favorite movie, yes."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not my favorite movie, I am fond of it though."

She craned her head thoughtfully at me. "Pray, what is your favorite?"

"It depends on how I'm feeling, really," I began, glancing at the screen. "I don't think I could narrow it down to just one."

Her mouth curled into a wry smile. "I love Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, Mildred Pierce, etcetera. They scarcely end on a happy note" – she struggled for the words – "but they provide some semblance of assuagement."

A chuckle escaped me at her explanation. "If you say so."

"Gone with the Wind is great," I replied. Never having seen Mildred Pierce, and unable to remember much of the plot of Casablanca, there was nothing more creative to say. It was a movie my mom had liked, and she preferred newer movies now.

Edythe had her eyes on the television screen, her face illuminated with different colors as the movie progressed. "Speaking of 'gone', we – might – be able to make it if we left right after dinner..."

"To your house?" I asked naively.

The corner of her mouth curled wolfishly before her eyes flicked to mine, and I was almost overtaken by them. "To the dance."

My eyes rolled as much as they could without disconnecting from the intensity of her gaze. "Not you, too..."

She began chuckling, the sweet scent of her breath washing over her face in the process. "Just promise, someday, you'll dance with me."

Blissfully… subdued, my eyes flicked in heady blinks to try and restore myself. "Yes, of course," I whispered; mesmerized. Euphoric, pleasurable, dizziness flooded all the way to my toes. Without thought, or reason, driven only by my inner self, I felt myself leaning forward. Crossing the gap between those few inches separating our lips to the sweet music of the movie. Her eyes were wet and heavy, butterscotch gems that no moonbeam could compete with.

"Bella..." Edythe whispered, her voice so strangely low and gravely.

I was so sure that she had been about to kiss me. She had leaned in with me, holding her breath. Her lavender eyelids were softly narrowing; but, just as mine were about to close the light from the television flickered. When my eyes adjusted from the split second of distraction – her seat on the couch was vacant.

Stunned from her loss, for a mere moment terror filled me. A terror I was beginning to get used to, which still panged regardless, that she would disappear from my life. But I heard her voice, and relief washed over me.

"Charlie, may I can give you a hand with that?" Her voice was so sweetly kind, my heart whip-lashed from terror to butterfly thwaps. She had just moved to the kitchen.

Hearing Charlie laugh awkwardly as a strange echo in the kitchen brought a smile to my lips. Turning my head toward the movie to hide it, not that it was visible from the kitchen anyway, my ears were on alert.

"Well, thank you, Edythe," Charlie guffawed again in his awkward way. I didn't realize what was going on until Edythe came back into the room with a bowl in her hands. The smell of half-burnt microwave popcorn coating the air. Given the strength of the smell, I resisted a laugh; but, a chuckle snuck out in the effort.

"Saving me, again?" I teased at the expense of my father, knowing by his voice growing faint again that he was on the phone still. How had I not heard the popcorn popping?

Edythe smirked as she handed me the bowl. "In some form," she tilted her head thoughtfully to peruse the contents. "Hopefully the popcorn is still edible, it looks rather dark in spots."

"It needs butter," I said, shaking my head before I took a piece and popped it into my mouth before she could take the bowl back from me.

Her face suddenly contorted with concern. She had her face tilted toward me; but, her attention was in the distance, or locked on something passing through her mind.

"Edythe?" I whispered, reaching up to touch her hand.

On autopilot, she sat back down beside me. However, the far-off look remained in her eyes. "This 'Billy' your father is talking to, is he from the Reservation?"

Suddenly losing all interest in the popcorn, I chewed the light handful I had managed to cave into my mouth to appease her and set the bowl down by my feet. Three heavy chews and an uncomfortable swallow preceded my answer. "Yeah, he's Jacob's Dad, he was here the other night."

If it was possible for Edythe to pale further, she might have. She said nothing, simply pressed the pads of her pointer and middle finger against my lips to still any further questioning. Desperate to hear what I was missing, I tried to listen to Charlie's voice in the kitchen; but, he was too far away to hear very clearly. It sounded like smokey, muffled, tones of no meaning beyond temperament.

"Billy is asking if you can come visit Jacob on the Reservation," Edythe began to say, and I uncomfortably swallowed the knot building in my throat. "Charlie said he'll ask you in a day or two."

"What else is he saying?" I whispered. The knot continued to swell, and I fumbled my fingers together in my lap.

Her eyes were poised in the distance, the way a cat rose up in alertness when a threat was near. "Billy is telling your father that I could be a bad influence on you. That he's happy to help him keep an eye on you."

Unable to resist, I asked against her statuesque fingers. "C-Can you hear Billy's thoughts?"

Her pupils snapped back from their diluted state, and her eyes shot at me with that familiar look of exasperation. "No, he's too far away." She explained it calmly; but, I could tell she was beginning to seethe with irritation by the tightening of her arm muscles.

"What else are they saying?" I tried to change the subject, reaching to touch her arm.

She moved her arm away. "They're talking about my family now. Billy is apologizing for an argument they had, and he seems genuinely concerned with your welfare."

I could only imagine what was going through her mind when her eyebrows narrowed pensively. But when I opened my mouth to speak, all questions I could think to ask felt stupid or redundant. The more I watched, the more her expression sobered, and her fingers slipped away from my lips.

"What is it?" I whispered, reaching for her hand again. She gave my fingers a soft squeeze with her adjacent hand before she released it.

"Your father wants to drive us to my house after dinner."

I held back a scoff of annoyance. "Why?"

She expelled a muted sigh as she shook her head softly to me. "He thinks you're sneaking out."

My face colored from surprise. "Really?"

Edythe chuckled then, smirking mischievously at me. "Verily, Billy gave him the impression that we're sneaking out to a keg party."

The snort that fell from my nose was so loud that I was sure my father might hear it. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop myself, and my hands covered my mouth from the resulting laughter. Barely muffling them, or in the very least my voice sounded loud in my own ears.

Edythe grinned almost wickedly at me, her nose raising with a newfound pride in herself. "Your father is telling Billy that he's being ridiculous, he heard our laughter," she explained in soft tones.

Which unfortunately, made me get the 'brilliant' idea to laugh more – on purpose to be loud enough to reassure my father. Edythe, catching on, also started to laugh for no reason. Laugh until the mutually poor acting that we both displayed was genuine between us.

"What is so funny, girls?" Charlie asked when he finally came in from the kitchen.

We both just pointed at the screen, as Danielle literally picked up her Prince Henry and carried him away from vengeful gypsies. It was a particularly comical part of the film.

Charlie mildly sighed, probably from not having been able to avoid missing the film,

Just as there was a knock on the door.


	16. Chapter Fifteen - The Cullens

_This chapter -began- to catch up with the length of time from the original book; but, I didn't feel it right to keep going when the events at the end of this chapter might become an entire chapter in itself. As far as your question of watching Bella sleep, whether Edythe has or hasn't, I haven't fully decided yet - she hasn't told me yay or nay, and we'll both find out together as I keep writing. I got a bunch of bad news today, so I escaped into finishing this chapter, which may have mildly bled into my work...but, I hope you all enjoy it anyway._

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

Edythe and I turned toward our heads to the front door as Charlie opened it; a tiny wad of bills in his hand to pay for the pizza he had ordered.

"Good evening, Mr. Swan!" A familiar voice as soft as wind chimes caught up in a spring breeze brought a gentle smile to my face. "I'm Alice, Edythe's sister, may I come inside?"

I could only imagine the dumbfounded look on my father's face, as he didn't move or say anything from surprise for several uncomfortable seconds. "Uh, sure, the girls are on the couch."

"Thank you, Charlie," Alice chirped with enthusiasm soaking through her words. Leaving my father dumbfounded again, as if he wasn't sure he had ever met Alice for her to remember his name.

Alice, dressed in the most exquisite of knee-length purple gowns, padded on dainty dancer's feet over the threshold toward us. Her eyes gleaming as animatedly as her voice when she saw that Edythe and I were sitting next to each other on the couch. I could have imagined it, but it looked like she was subtly rotating on the balls of her feet like a happy snake dancing to an invisible flute. Her excitement unnerved me, but in the most pleasant of ways.

"Alice – I didn't expect you so early," Edythe mentioned warmly, clearly amused at the eagerness lighting up her sister's eyes.

She tilted her foot, to reveal the side of her expensive-looking footwear. "I can - hardly - dance with a broken heel, now can I?" Alice teased, and I peeked behind me to see if Charlie was still standing near the hall. He was still scratching his head, blinking excessively in what had to be a family trait.

"Sure, if you say so," Edythe teased, squinting her eyes with a shrewdness that seemed to suspect Alice of breaking her heel on purpose.

Alice bounced her flyaway locks with a shake of her head, a soft sigh falling from her lips. "You will not vex me today, Eedee, I'm here to see Bella," Alice mentioned in stubbornly nonchalant dismissal before she glided over to the couch and tried to weasel her way between the two of us. Edythe moved as much as she could lean to not be sat upon; but, it took me almost falling off the couch to scoot out of her path in time.

Which of course incited a giggle from the dark-haired pixie as she wrapped her arms around me for the briefest of platonic embraces.

"H-Hey Alice," I bumbled awkwardly as soon as the hug had ended. "Weren't you having fun at the dance?"

The coy gleam that glistened over Alice's golden eyes unsettled me. "Dances come and go, Bella," She began to say, wiggling her nose in Edythe's direction. "Besides, it's not often my sister spends time at a 'friend's house' – you cannot expect me to sit on the sidelines while a blue moon shines in the sky."

A laugh guffawed behind us, and we each turned to see my father chuckling – only to bashfully apologize and retreat into the kitchen. To my knowledge, Charlie didn't have any siblings, so perhaps this exchange was a newfound enjoyment to him. I heard Charlie's footsteps quiet behind me in the back of my mind, but my attention was too focused on Edythe to notice.

"Might you, please, restrain your quips until we are on the way home?" Edythe warned; her tone artificially sweetened as potent irritation burned in her eyes.

A burning that Alice seemed to be entirely immune to. "Of course! But only if 'dearest Bella' insists," she smirked.

What had 'dearest Bella' meant? She was obviously teasing Edythe – did that mean Edythe called me that when I wasn't around? My face felt considerably warmer, and Alice's victory was complete. Curiosity having rendered me mute, when it became altogether too obvious that Alice wanted me to say something, I flushed and swallowed the frog in my throat. "I insist."

"Oh, alright," she snickered without making any noise, her eyes taking in the 'movie of choice' as her mouth curled with impish delight. My stomach knotting with fear of what Alice might say to Edythe and I watching a romantic comedy. Thankfully, she said nothing, only praised her good work with her nose gracefully held in the air between us. I couldn't see Edythe anymore from Alice leaning forward – which was perhaps for the best; my face was still a beaming red light.

"Pray, what did you promise Jasper in exchange for cutting the night short?" Edythe whispered strongly enough for me to hear.

Alice tilted her head sideways, like a sly bird. I couldn't see the expression she gave Edythe; but, as I leaned forward to try and see if Edythe was alright – she looked mortified. Of course they didn't need to talk back and forth. Whatever it was that Edythe saw in Alice's mind was probably more than I needed to know, much less wonder about. Desperate not to let my mind wander, I leaned forward again to speak the first question that popped out of my mind.

"Alice, I know you're very 'intuitive'; but, how did you know to get here so fast?"

The smirk laced over her fairy features made me feel ridiculous for asking. She momentarily glanced behind her to see if Charlie was there, and I had a feeling she was only doing so for my benefit before she spoke. "My 'gift' is most useful once I have become accustomed to a person's…wavelength. The string of fate, if you are fond of Greek myths as an analogy. Usually I can form a connection through touch, but sometimes the fate of something is so powerful that I catch onto it, like a tuning fork to the unknown," she paused to glance at Edythe. "Eedee and I are very close, Bella. We have a strong connection, and it's very easy to look into her future. When she makes a firm decision, I can feel it."

Understanding began to saturate me, but I didn't wish to interrupt her. She looked again behind her, and I knew on an unconscious level that she was trying to reassure me that Charlie wasn't listening to us. Where had he gone, anyway? A part of me didn't want to ask.

"When Edythe, or another of our family makes any kind of decision, especially those that involves me, it's like a soundless ping goes off in my head; A metaphorical fly tugging in my mental web. I can usually choose to look at it, or ignore this sensation completely. With the exception, of course, where potential omens are concerned. The pull is usually too great for me to ignore those kinds of visions. I suspect that is because these strings are tied to a larger fate..." Her eyes suddenly shifted to Edythe. "One that _cannot be avoided_."

My mind raced with questions; but, I took a moment to consider her words instead of inquire about her. She took that pause to continue her explanation.

"Jasper and I were dancing when I felt the tug, and saw Edythe telling your father about plans for a sleepover," She swayed happily at the recollection. "I couldn't resist the invitation," she mentioned with pride – as if she had never been invited for a sleepover party before.

"You could have waited until – after – the dance, Ally," Edythe quipped with a scowl on her beautiful face.

"I could have – but you kept bringing the subject up, Eedee, and if anyone is to convince Bella to go to a dance - it's me," she mentioned as though my not going to the Spring Dance was a matter of national security. Knowing full well that whatever they said out loud was for my benefit, and for me to respond to, I ignored the ache building up in my stomach and tried to gently pat Alice's cold upper arm in as reassuring a gesture as possible.

"I really _don't_ want to go to the dance."

"She doesn't mean tonight, Bella," Edythe began to explain; rolling her eyes gently toward her sibling. "She wants to know if we're going to Prom."

Oh God, Prom. Desperately trying to formulate a vague enough answer that sounded reasonable to me, Edythe was suddenly standing and walking away from the couch. With the pull of a magnet, my head and eyes turned to follow her until I couldn't see her fully anymore. She was at the front door, opening it as she pulled a men's wallet from her back jean pocket. If I didn't exaggerate, it looked as though some kind of emblem or family crest was etched into the leather material.

The pizza must have finally arrived! My stomach bellowed in relief, and I colored from embarrassment.

"I'll wait in the car while you two eat," Alice playfully sniped at her sister. No doubt referring to when Edythe had taken a bite of my apple during lunch at school and grossed her out. Clearly it unnerved her to watch her sister pretend to enjoy their equivalent of 'dirt'. It amused me, and I found myself rising from the couch just as heavy thumps bumped down the stairs.

"Wait, Edythe, let me pay for that," Charlie insisted, but given that the sound of the door closing after Alice left, it was already too late for that.

"Tis quite alright, Mr. Swan, I'm happy to help," she began, carrying the pizza into the kitchen. "I feel a bit guilty to steal her away tonight on such short notice."

Following Edythe into the kitchen, my eyes loomed heavily on Charlie's concerned expression. One that melted into appreciation almost instantly. "That's very kind of you, Edythe."

"Yeah, thanks, you really didn't have to, though," I insisted as I tried to meet Edythe's gaze.

"Nonsense, what else is there to spend my money on?" Edythe replied with cheerful tones as she pulled a steaming slice of pizza onto a paper plate. She only caught my eye when she held the plate out to me, and replied to my insistence with an equally firm expression. Exchanging the empty plate toward her, she tugged three pieces at once onto it and began to hold it out for Charlie to take. Had Edythe truly made a mistake, or was she manufacturing faults to seem more human?

Just when I hoped his concern was gone, it resurfaced as Edythe kept holding the plate toward him. "Uh, thanks," Charlie mumbled before he sat down in his usual seat.

A bit surprised that Edythe had grabbed two slices of pizza, relief flushed through me when she chuckled and exchanged our plates so that I had two slices. Her mouth almost goofy as she flashed her crooked smile toward me. Reaching for the crust of one of my slices, I raised toward my mouth without further comment.

"You can have more if you like," Charlie encouraged; but, I was already dancing my hands from biting into the pizza too soon to interject and save her.

"Oh, thank you, Charlie," She mentioned with a quiet laugh. "But I'm on a special diet, I don't get very hungry anyway."

I could almost feel Alice cringe from the car when Edythe raised her slice to take a tiny bite. As much as she tried to hide her reaction, her eyes welled up with a glimmer of disgust and she hurriedly swallowed. Pretending that she was still chewing, regret swimming over her face as she looked down at what could only be a steaming pile of crap for her to finish. Desperate to help her, I glanced at Charlie to see if he was paying any attention to Edythe. He looked to be staring at the wall, or through the wall, as he tended to do once conversation had waned at dinnertime.

"Did you have a good time fishing, Dad?" I brought up to make him turn his head toward me.

His eyes lit up with interest. "I certainly did, Bells. I caught us some trout, but Waylon took home most of it," he mentioned before he took another bite of pizza and dabbed a napkin against his mustache. Something he didn't generally bother with when we didn't have guests.

"Guess we'll have fish fries next week, too," I said playfully. When I glanced over at Edythe's plate, there was only the crust remaining. Although, it looked like she had taken bites out of it, and I cast her a worried look.

"If you want, I'll like fish any way you make it," Charlie mentioned, before he looked around with sudden realization. "Did Alice want to join us?" He leaned his chair back, which protested with a loud squeak, as he looked for where she had vanished to. He must not have seen her go outside.

"Alice is lactose intolerant, so she went to wait in the car while we eat," Edythe mentioned warmly. "Besides, she already ate before the dance."

"Ah," Charlie mentioned, taking another bite and dabbing his mouth with a napkin again.

It was refreshing how well Edythe and Charlie were getting along, a part of me stayed quiet to enjoy their simple exchanges. Mostly, however, I was trying to finish eating relatively quickly so we could get going to Edythe's house. Where her parents were waiting. Nerves flushed within me, but I tried to ignore the fuzzy trickling sensation rushing down to my toes.

"So…you gals are having a sleepover?"

I swallowed too fast, and nearly choked, in my rush to answer. "Yeah, we're gonna hang out and have some girl time."

"My mother, Esme, got us a bunch of make up kits and bunny slippers," Edythe teased, and I honestly wasn't sure if I was coming home with a pair of them or not.

Charlie didn't look convinced, probably because he saw the surprise on my face. "I see," he mentioned, mustache twitching as he chewed over what Edythe had said. "I didn't take you for liking make-up, Bells."

"Never tried wearing any before," I said with a shrug, taking another bite of pizza as nonchalantly as I could.

"I could call my mother before we go, Charlie, if you wanted to talk to her first," Edythe encouraged as she stood, taking her plate to the trash to toss it and lean her back against the counter-top.

"If you don't mind," Charlie said, and while he smiled, the warmth didn't reach his eyes.

Dusting powdery residue from my hands as I finally finished both slices, I wiped my hands on a napkin before I stood from the table. "Well, I should get my pajamas."

Edythe nodded once at me in acknowledgment when I glanced her way. "Don't trip up the stairs," she teased, and Charlie laughed until he coughed.

Rolling my eyes, I headed upstairs just as Edythe began to say something to Charlie. In my rush to get upstairs, I didn't pay attention to her words as I made a bee-line for my room.

Why, oh why, did I forsake bringing the Victoria's Secret pajama outfit my mom had gotten me. It was a gag gift on my last birthday that I never planned on wearing; but besides that I literally had nothing worth being seen in. Maybe Alice would have some pajamas for me to wear, I hoped to myself, but then I remembered that vampires never sleep – why would she own any?

Pouring through every dresser drawer, I eventually settled on an over-sized T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants I used to lounge around in. They would have to do. Besides, outside of tonight, was Edythe going to see me in pajamas anyway? We couldn't entangle that way.

Bounding downstairs, my father and Edythe were hovering near our cordless phone. My father was lightly chuckling into the phone against his head.

"Certainly, Esme, I'll come pick her up tomorrow morning, then," Charlie mentioned with an unusually cheerful tone to his bashful voice. "Haha, alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

Was Charlie blushing? I blinked; stunned, as he hung up the phone. He turned to me, suddenly mortified to have been caught so unglued by his daughter.

He hastily cleared his throat. "Ahem, well, you better go, Bells."

Wanting to reassure him that I wasn't going to any keg parties, I moved to awkwardly fold my arms around my father for a quick hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, Dad."

"Ahm, Yeah, take care, girls."

Edythe was lingering near the front door, looking far too gorgeous in the darkness as she waited for me to come closer. She opened it for me as I drew near, and closed it after us.

"What was that all about?" I asked her, unable to hide the discomfort on my face from showing.

"Your father has a little crush on Esme, is all," She laughed and shook her head. "We - are - very beautiful, and Charlie – is – only human."

A silent shudder rippled through me at the idea of my father being a hot-blooded creature. Ugh, gross. So that was what he meant by 'you should see his wife'.

Alice looked more enthusiastic than I could ever remember seeing her as we neared the car. Clearly this was her first sleepover in a very long time for the both of us, at least, that was where I imagined her excitement was stemming from.

"Hey, Alice," I greeted as Edythe opened the back door of her Silver Volvo for me. I slid in without a second thought, and felt a hot wave of happiness shine over me as she sat down beside me.

"Hello, Bella," she responded warmly as I buckled myself in. Alice had reached down to the front seat, tugging something I couldn't make out from the floorboard of the passenger seat. When she raised her hand, she shoved a small plastic trash can toward Edythe.

"I don't need this," Edythe insisted with a grimace splashing over her mouth.

"You will if you keep breathing in," Alice warned, and Edythe took the trash can with one hand and pressed it against her lap. "I can't believe you ate that entire slice."

"Desperate times, desperate measures," Edythe began as she slid her free arm around the back of my shoulders. "Charlie was starting to notice."

"Does he still think we're going to a keg party, tonight?"

Alice mildly snorted from the front seat as the car backed out of the brick driveway.

"He's certainly worried about you; but, no, he doesn't think we're going to a keg party tonight. We will have to.." Edythe began to explain, but she stopped and rested her clenched fist against her mouth all of a sudden.

"Bucket," Alice snapped, and Edythe shoved her face into the trash bin.

Worried, I brushed my fingers through her hair to try and comb it away from the sides of the trash can; but, the moment seemed to pass and Edythe raised her head with a resilient stubbornness to combat whatever sensation that eating human food might cause.

"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly, still brushing my fingers through her radiant shoulder-length locks. Even when she looked distressed in any capacity, she was radiantly gorgeous. Not one ounce of sickness touched her face or skin.

"I'm fine, Bella," she reassured me with an unconvincing charade of a smile plastered over her mouth. "Mind over matter."

"Ugh, please don't let her do that again," Alice groaned softly from the driver's seat. "The smell is atrocious."

Unable to smell a thing, I leaned over to peek into the trash can; but, Edythe hastily moved it away from me. I couldn't see or smell anything in there, though, from it being too dark as we drove down the highway. If there was a smell in the Volvo, all I could register was Edythe's blissfully wonderful scent. Her hair was near my nose, and she had moved for me to rest my head against her shoulder.

"Can vampires even throw up?" I had to ask, even if I didn't exactly wish to know the answer.

"Not comfortably," Edythe mentioned, grimacing as she tilted her head away from my own to speak. "Most of our 'plumbing' works in some capacity…just very differently from yours, dearest."

Alice giggled, for reasons I couldn't grasp, and Edythe pinned the rear-view mirror the most vicious of glares.

"What?"

"Nothing, Bella," Alice choked through a hearty laugh, and I had a sinking feeling that there was more to her laughter than being enamored at Edythe using a term of endearment.

Edythe's arm muscles tightened into hard, rigid, limbs as her sister continued to poorly muffle her chuckling. "Drop it, Alice."

"What? What is it?" I demanded to know; flicking my eyes back and forth from Edythe's face and Alice's reflection in the rear-view mirror.

"You both are adorable," Alice cooed as she turned onto a road I couldn't make out in the darkness, down a back-road out of Forks.

"Alice…saw several 'possible futures' of our trip to the meadow, today, and she won't stop thinking about them."

My face felt instantly cold and clammy as I leaned away from Edythe and fiddled with my hands in my lap. "Oh."

"I told her not to watch," Edythe continued, apologetically, as she gently wrapped her arm around my shoulder. Gently pressing my head back into her shoulder.

"If I didn't offer a little _encouragement_ , Eedee, you would still be mooning over each other across the cafeteria and then where would we be?" Alice ecstatically praised, the points of her short hair happily dancing around the headrest in front of me.

My face burned, and I goofily nibbled on my bottom lip. Having seen Alice pestering Edythe outside the cafeteria window, and remembering how she had taken the time to be so friendly to me, I couldn't deny her involvement. Perhaps if Alice hadn't been so driven to spur on her sister's happiness, we wouldn't be where we were now, and I felt both irritated and infinitely grateful.

"Speeding up the inevitable is hardly a victory," Edythe countered. "But, thank you."

Gazing away from the rear-view mirror, to look out the windows, I realized, as the forest encroached on both sides of the Volvo, that trying to memorize how to get back would be a fruitless endeavor. The road ahead was only discernible for a few meters as it twisted, serpent-like, around the ancient trees on either side of us. For the remainder of the drive, I could make out less and less, the darkness too poignant to see through. Did Alice even have her lights on? Or were the trees, blocking out all moonlight, making this passageway through these ancient woods seem darker than it truly was?

After a few miles, there was some thinning of the woods, until the silver Volvo pulled up into a small meadow – or was it actually a lawn? The gloom of the forest didn't dare relent, though, for there were at least six primordial cedars that shaded an entire acre with their vast sweep of branches. The trees held their almost ominous, protective, shadow right up to the walls of the house that rose among them. From the soft light turned on at the door of the house, I thought I could see evidence of a porch; but, the car was parked too far away to be entirely certain of it.

"Welcome to Casa Cullen!" Alice sang enthusiastically as she turned off the ignition, tossed Edythe the car keys, and bounded from the driver's seat.

Once the light automatically turned on from the door opening, I reluctantly broke from the peace of our embrace. Unbuckling with my eyes still resting on Edythe, and unable to resist, the plastic trash can. Or where it had been, as the plastic trash can was gone now. Not smelling any evidence of illness, I half-wondered if I had made the whole thing up. Besides, a trash can of possible vomit was hardly important right now.

Edythe looked pristine and perfect, regardless, and she was already out of the car; holding out her hand for me to take it. Once the car was off and locked, we carefully began to trek across the lawn toward what seemed to be a massive house.

When I was near enough to be certain that there – was – indeed a porch around the house, I saw a tall figure waiting in the shadows by the door. Alice flocked toward it with a dance to her step, and enveloped the silhouette. The shadow transformed into the figure of Jasper once I took my first step on the porch, and the light illuminated his honeyed locks.

"Good evening, Bella," Jasper mentioned with difficulty to his vocal texture, and I waved awkwardly at the snuggling couple.

"Hey, Jasper," I greeted.

"Evening, Jas," Edythe chirped warmly, and whether Alice was whispering to her lover in frequencies my ears couldn't hear or not, his face lit up with mischief. "I take it you enjoyed the dance together?"

Jasper laughed, albeit it sounded like he was in pain. "I enjoyed leaving early to fetch your car," he confessed bemusedly.

"You were wonderful, I'm very proud of you," Alice mentioned vaguely in her sunny tones. "All of us crammed into that limousine, a whole auditorium full of people, and you didn't need to hold your breath once."

Perhaps desperate to get the attention off of what he might feel to be a sign of weakness, Jasper cleared his throat. "The dance is still going on, if you and Bella wanted to…"

The sudden annoyance that filled me from – yet another – mention of that stupid dance contorted my entire face. Jasper, having his eyes pinned warmly on my face, immediately stopped talking when he saw it; Clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Ehrm...never mind."

It looked like Edythe vigorously shook her head beside me, to further discourage all talk of dances from happening again, before she slipped her arm back around me. "Will Rosalie and Emmett be back soon?"

Jasper shrugged, and Alice worriedly shook her head. "Rosalie hasn't made up her mind; but, I think they're leaning toward staying away until dawn."

It was a relief to know I wouldn't risk running into Rosalie's dangerously lethal glare tonight; but, Edythe seemed to be unsettled by the fact. Not wanting to ask about it now, I touched her arm in the lamplight to find her forearm muscles tightened.

"That sounds pretty romantic," I tried to change the subject away from my suspicions, and Alice's eyes seemed to sparkle like diamonds as she 'mooned' over how 'adorable' she thought we were.

"Indeed," Edythe's voice was bereft of cheer, and she exhaled with a quiet sigh as she turned her attention back to me. Her face smirking crookedly as she moved her arm from around my waist to hold our her elbow toward me. "Shall we?"

"Sure," I took her arm instead of linking my own with hers, really not sure of the proper protocol for meeting someone's parents. "Are you both coming inside?"

Alice grinned as she nuzzled her cheek against the emerald vest of Jasper's semi-casual suit. "Go on ahead, I would like a few barefoot dances first."

Glancing down, Alice was barefoot, and my brows furrowed trying to remember if I had seen where on Earth she had ditched the broken pair. That mystery, and many other tiny curiosities, was going to keep me up at night.

Edythe opened the door to her family home, and immediately the smell of garlic, spices, and savory roast beef flooded my senses. My mouth hung open in surprise from the unexpected home-cooked euphoria that washed over me. I froze, numbly holding Edythe's hand in shock.

"...I told them not to do this..." Edythe complained, and for the life of me I didn't understand her annoyance. It smelled wonderful, and I was salivating in spite of the earlier pizza.

Being led into a proverbial dream-house surprised me. Not only because of the unexpected smell of dinner; but, the house itself was so very bright inside. Very open and large, as if the foyer had originally been several rooms and the walls had been taken down to make it one wide open space. The back wall of the house was black, in great contrast to the heavenly décor, and I soon realized that it wasn't because the wall had been dipped in shadow. The entirety of the back of the house had been replaced with glass, as I could see the silhouettes of cedar trees swaying to a breeze. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.

Edythe swept me away from this dream in the direction of that Utopian smell, growing increasingly more irritable as we approached a lavish kitchen. Recognizing Dr. Cullen instantly, despite how alien it was for me to see him in casual clothing outside of the hospital, he looked up when we drew near. An uncertain sheen over his eyes as he took in the sight of our conjoined hands and interwoven fingers. He seemed to be busy chopping something I couldn't see behind the counter-top that separated us. I was too distracted to immediately notice the caramel-colored hair of a woman hidden behind him.

"Carlisle, Esme, this is my," She paused, as if sensing her father-figure's unease. "Bella."

Wholly unaware of anything else once she heard Edythe's voice, the woman I assumed to be Esme poked out from behind Carlisle holding an expensive-looking salad bowl in her hands. Spinach leaves, croutons, onions, and some glistening vinaigrette dressing greeted me from inside the bowl; but, I could scarcely notice the food anymore. Esme was almost as startlingly beautiful as Rosalie, with a beautiful heart-shaped face that reminded me so much of my own mother. She couldn't have been more than twenty-six, on a good day, and her incredible youth coupled with Carlisle's own made me forget entirely that these walking angels were supposed to be Edythe's 'parents'.

As Esme took in the sight of me, an invisible light encapsulated the room. Her affection was a tangible presence, and I irresistibly felt my face glowing to match her own as she smiled with inescapable joy to lock eyes with me. She made me feel like I was the most important person in the room, in a way that didn't make me feel anxious or on-edge. Something about her billows of soft hair and the elated glimmer in her golden eyes reminded me of the ingenues of the silent-movie era. She was small, slender, yet less angular and more rounded in figure than the others.

Edythe was immune entirely, be it from her annoyed spirits or having been exposed to Esme's smiles too many times to be consumed by her deep and unfailing affection. "You didn't need to prepare a feast for her..."

Carlisle's lips melted into an eager smile, perhaps overtaken by the instant approval of his wife. "It's given us an excuse to use this kitchen for the first time," he mentioned with a hearty laugh.

"She already ate," Edythe expressed irritably, and sadness crept over her mother's face.

I reached out to touch Edythe's arm before she could comment further as pain surged through my chest. My heart beat in anguish as I found myself unable to bear even the risk of destroying the lambency which had begun to wane over Esme's beautiful face.

"I'm still a little hungry, everything smells so wonderful," I insisted, and the treasured glow resurfaced in Esme's golden eyes.

"That settles it then! Edythe, can you set the table?"

Raising my hand, I felt woozy as Edythe dipped and pressed her lips against my knuckles. "Of course, father," she mentioned obediently, but her eyes remained on me; locked to my face until her fingers let go of my hand.

Esme walked hurriedly to a giant dining room table which brought to mind the tales of King Arthur. The light colored beige sheen covering her light blue dress reminded me of Arizona sunsets against her pale, lavender, complexion. She set down the salad bowl immediately before she rushed, in human swiftness of course, to my side and carefully enveloped me in her arms.

It was strange, to feel prickles of sensation tug at the corners of my eyes to dampen them. She smelled so comforting, like cotton blankets and melted butter, and I missed my own mom so much that for a moment I worried I was falling apart. Esme's nurturing arms the only thing capable of holding me together.

"I am so blessed to meet you, Bella," Esme confessed with a breathless tenderness into the fabric of my dark navy turtleneck. She spoke with jubilant wistfulness, mending my waxing heart into a state of saturated tranquility. "I feared Edythe might never bring someone home."

Was she weeping? Her voice sounded exquisitely wet, as though happiness had encompassed her aura so thoroughly that it overflowed and melted over everything it touched. Was Jasper using his powers to effect my mood? If so, I didn't care – I squeezed my weaker, human, arms around Esme and clung to her for the few remaining seconds that our embrace continued.

"Darling, let's not smother Bella," Carlisle warned so cheerfully, his eyes brimming with affection as he carried a steaming crock pot toward the table. They both made me feel like I was already a part of her family, and I turned my dampening eyes to see Edythe watching me lovingly. In her hand was a plate of elegant china that she set down in front of four seats at the dining room table. China which seemed to be far too fine for table use - bringing to mind my younger years when my grandmother used to display antique tea sets behind tall glass cases that no one was allowed to use.

Not knowing which seat to take, I awkwardly stood until Edythe took her spot at the table and gingerly patted the cushion of the ornate dining chair beside her. Master craftsmen must have build everything in this house, and yet, these extravagances paled in comparison to Edythe's beautiful face. I sat down, unable and unwilling to resist the call to slide my fingers between her own.

She didn't hide our hands under the table, and my heart fluttered ecstatically within me. "Thank you, for being here tonight, Carlisle."

"Yes" – I seconded enthusiastically – "It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen."

"You are most welcome, Bella." His smile was measured, careful as he freed his arm from an oven mitt to approach me. He raised his hand tentatively, and I leaned forward to shake hands with his cold, skillful, fingers. "and there is no place I would rather be, Eedee."

I watched with a strange pang of longing as Carlisle approached my Edythe and raised her free hand to kiss the back of it with open, fatherly, affection.

"So, shall we 'dig in' as the kids these days say it?" Esme titillated across from me.

Watching Carlisle serve Esme a small slice of pot roast and potatoes on her already salad-dusted china confused me; but, I imagined it was a charade meant to set me at ease to eat in front of them. Carlisle then served me a grander portion than what he had garnished his own plate with, and began to serve Edythe – who held up her hand in mild dismay.

"No, no, I have pretended to enjoy food once already," Edythe teased, and my mind returned to the plastic trash can...and where on earth it must have gone.

Esme and Carlisle chortled pleasantly, amused by their daughter's antics. A bottle was soon raised from a champagne bucket, and the smell of apples and grapes washed over me as sparkling cider was poured into four identical, clear, wine chalices. Charmed at the attention to detail of this charade that Carlisle and Esme had thrown for me, I couldn't bring myself to raise what could only be an old fashioned silver fork from beside my china platter without saying something.

"You really don't have to go out of your way for me, I'm perfectly happy to meet you both without all this," I insisted; and my cheeks hurt as my lips mimicked the glorious smile that splashed over Esme's face.

"It's traditional to have a family meal when meeting our future-" Esme suddenly stopped speaking when her eyes fell on Edythe's threatening expression. As though conflicted and torn in the search for a proper word. "Well, a person as important to our Edythe as you."

I instantly forgave every struggle she made, it was so clear to me that she was working hard to try and dispel the awkwardness of not meeting a boy tonight. "It means a lot, thank you, Mrs. Cullen."

"Esme," she encouraged, her name as beautiful as blooming flowers.

"Esme," I repeated, flushing as I finally took the fork in my hand. Anxiously watching to see how Edythe and her 'parents' held onto their forks so I didn't humiliate myself.

"And please, call me Carlisle."

"Carlisle," I grinned at him, my sudden confidence surprising me. The relief that flowed from Edythe tangibly erased the nerves in my fumbling fingers and I ate with uncharacteristic gentility.

"Are Alice and Jasper joining us?" I asked after swallowing, but there was no need for an answer. Suddenly, they appeared several feet from the table.

"Hello, again, Bella!" Alice called enthusiastically in a streak of black hair and white skin came to a stop beside me at the table. She seemed to be looking at Edythe, and I barely noticed Edythe nod in acknowledgment to something secretly shared.

Distracted from asking by the look of panic that swarmed over Carlisle and Esme's face, perhaps caused from Alice showcasing their unnatural speed, I tried to laugh to break the tension. Carlisle looked disapprovingly at the glamorous barefoot fairy; but, I rather liked her childlike enthusiasm. It was natural for her, and I wanted her to feel at ease around me. She bounced, dipping forward to kiss my cheek, without a second thought. A kiss that was also given to Edythe's cheek, before she rushed to peck Esme.

"Hey, Alice!" I greeted again, reaching up to touch the cold spot on my face where Alice's lips had pecked me. Embarrassed, not used to sisterly displays of affection, I rubbed my cheek and turned to give Esme and Carlisle my full attention again. If they looked cautious before, they now looked flabbergasted at my acceptance of her behavior. Edythe's foot gently pressed against my own under the table, and in turning to gaze at her, I brought my hand back to her own and elected to continue my meal with my left fork – hoping this unnatural grace I had continued to my wobbly side.

"Enjoying your meal, Bella?" Jasper asked, keeping his distance from me. Despite not offering to shake my hand again, it was impossible for me to feel ill at ease around him.

"I am, thank you," I praised, and Esme beamed with radiance.

"We're so glad you came," Esme mentioned buoyantly, and I realized that she must consider me to be incredibly brave to be here.

While I ate, Esme and Carlisle feigned tossing the bits of salad around on their plates. Alice and Jasper moved to sit beside Carlisle, with Jasper as far away from me as possible, though he smiled pleasantly toward me whenever our eyes happened to meet. Alice tossed some salad onto her plate to continue this comforting masquerade, and Edythe gingerly pushed her plate away from herself.

"I am, too, I hope you don't feel like you have to pamper me like, though," I paused to reach for my wine glass of sparkling cider. "I know you guys don't eat."

Esme chuckled gaily before her eyes lit up with realization and she turned to Carlisle. Pretending to dab a napkin against her lips after setting down her fork. "Carlisle, the toast."

Sudden realization flushed over the patriarch as he set down his fork and raised his glass. Not knowing what to expect, I raised my glass a little higher to match them. "To Edythe and Bella," he began, but whatever it was he was clearly about to say never had a chance to leave his mouth.

"What in – God's name – is going on?"

The unfamiliar voice, dripping with syrupy malice, caused everyone at the table to hover their glasses in the air. Turning around, I saw Rosalie and Emmett several yards from the dining room table – hovering in the doorway. Emmett's eyes were filled with apology, a giant teddy bear lingering behind the stunning goddess that I could never compete with.

"Do you realize how ridiculous you look?" Rosalie continued, her fingers tightening into merciless claws at her sides.

I heard something clatter onto china; but, I didn't need to look around to know that Edythe had abandoned her seat beside me. "Be **quiet** , Rose," Edythe demanded; her tone raw, gravely, and ladled with abhorrence. "No one _wanted_ you here tonight."

Before I had a chance to see Rosalie's response to Edythe's comment, Rosalie swam through the air to dodge Emmett's comforting grasp.

"I'm a part of this family, I should be here," Rosalie jawed as she hastened to stop at the foot of the dining table. Something monstrous, growls beyond any sound I had ever heard on the nature channel, funneled between the rampant vampiresses. "Do you really think this 'playing pretend' is going to keep us safe!?"

"Shut up, Rose!" Edythe bellowed, and terror forced my fork to clatter off of my plate onto the floor.

"How _dare_ you tell me to be quiet!" Her hands, tightened into hard fists, snapped the fake nails she wore into tiny shards on the ground. Rosalie's fingernails miraculously unharmed from the loss of the dolled up extensions. "You're going to implicate every one of us **when** this _ends badly,_ Edythe."

Everyone was out of their chairs, now. Everyone, except me, was crowding around Rosalie and Edythe to try and convince them to calm back down. Whatever they said was muffled sounds – blurred ringing in my ears. It was all I could focus on, in my desperate fear of Edythe being hurt in front of me, to listen for every word I could make out between her and Rosalie.

Alice was moving beside me now, standing behind Esme – who was clearly shielding me from potential danger. "It's not going to end badly, Rose..."

"It will unless she does what she _has to_ do, Alice. You _all_ know this charade is pointless!"

A great shattering arose a high-pitched scream out of me – and I realized that someone had slammed that beautiful salad bowl on the floor. Glass glistening everywhere at their feet – though only Rosalie had wet spinach leaves sticking to her gorgeous ruby evening gown. If Rosalie said anything more, my ears buzzing from the sound couldn't hear it.

"Don't you **ever** say that about her again!"

Carlisle had his hands on Edythe's upper arms from behind her, keeping her from going after her 'sister', though she struggled in his grip. Unable to move, paralyzed, I could only watch in horror as Edythe shoved herself away from her father.

"Edythe, stop!" He demanded, and it barely halted her fist in time. "She has a right to be concerned."

"The past is dead, Rose! Get over it." Edythe was growling – ravenous and untamed. I could see Rosalie's lip trembling; her eyes welling up with tears of rage and bitterness.

An eerie silence followed. I barely breathed as I watched Rosalie and Edythe standing there in angst.

"Rose..." Emmett's eyes waned as he reached for his beloved, standing between her and Edythe with his large, burly, muscles bringing some semblance of calm into the room. Rosalie's eyes were damp, but no tears fell as she took Emmett's giant gingers in her feminine digits and stepped away from the seething Edythe.

"You're right," she mourned in broken tones. "Times are changing now, but it doesn't erase what was. Or what you have to do."

Rosalie nodded her head coldly in my direction, and something unreadable molded her face as she turned away to leave the house.

In the eerie stillness that followed the end of the confrontation, I realized that Jasper was gone, and Alice was trying to touch Edythe's arm encouragingly. Edythe roughly shirked her hand away, before burying her face under the veil of her golden-bronze hair.

"She'll be alright, in time," Carlisle reassured, with optimism than true belief shining on is face.

Edythe still seethed in front of me, her back unrelentingly turned so I couldn't see her face. Unable to bear watching her suffer in anguish, I stood from the beautiful antique chair – stumbling from fear having drained my balance to make up for my earlier grace. Esme worriedly stretched her hand to me, and steadied, I walked to Edythe and tried to wrap my arms around her waist.

She stopped, and held her breath, but said nothing to me.

"Most assuredly, Edythe," Alice pleaded beside us. "She can't blame you for finding your mate."

It was weird to hear that word used to describe me, when we couldn't 'entangle' that way. To be a mate, one has to have mated, that's what made logical sense to me. My breath caught in my throat at the realization that we might never be able to give ourselves to each other, and my strength began to drain.

Edythe turned to me then, wrapping her arms around my fragile body to hold me close to her again. In the back of my mind, I knew I was being hoisted up; Carried away from the dining room. To where? I didn't know. I only drifted broken-heartedly in Edythe's arms as Alice, Esme, and Carlisle forlornly looked at each other.

Drowning in a sea of shadows caused by the shade of Edythe's hair, distraught by the entrapment of the scent and closeness which I still wholly worshiped, I wept into her shoulder. Carried like a small child up the stairs, my eyes managed to catch sight of an exquisite grand piano in the foyer that I had been to hungry to notice before. Sharp, lancing, stabs plucked against the strings in my hearts as I remembered that Edythe had promised to play for me.

Why would she now, when we were destined to _end badly_ …

The foyer disappearing as we turned from the top of the stairs, the whole day overtook me. Our hours in the meadow melted away into one of my unchangeable dreams. The only glimpse of romantic passion that I had ever shared with someone else, and it was about to be ripped away from me…


	17. Chapter Sixteen - The Question

_It was deeply enjoyable to write this, and I found myself listening to songs from my early teenage years that seemed to encompass their pure, teenaged, relationship. Despite how mature their passion is, I needed to remember what it was like to be younger and full of hormones, and playing A*Teens songs like Sugar Rush, Around the Corner of your eye, and 'Morning Light' really helped me get in the mindset to continue their tale. It was difficult to pause where this chapter ended, but I feel the next conversation that happens in the story will also be very detailed, and it should have plenty of room to flourish. Plus, I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer for a chapter update!_

 _I adore each of your reviews - they mean so much to me, and they help me keep my mind centered on the project at hand. Answering questions, rereading your notes, gives me more ideas of what to implement in the future, or elaborate on what has happened before. Maybe I'm moving too fast in the story, but I am splicing together parts of the book and the movies that I fell in love with. I agree with you, OperaGhost, that I didn't really feel the love in the first twilight book. It wasn't until New Moon that I truly felt their connection, and it seemed wrong to me - even with enjoying the twilight series immensely. She didn't just chose Edythe, she chose her family, she chose becoming a vampire, and I really want to have that shine in the coming setting. Changes from the end of the book are in store, but I will be working on New Moon and the others. How the story 'Life After Death' ended felt like a crime to me. Stephanie Meyer saying that was the best ending for Beau and Edythe just felt like a mockery of all that Bella and Edward went through together. I could imagine Edythe being more selfish than Edward was, and changing him sooner than Breaking Dawn, but the ending of Life After Death did not in any way do them the justice I felt they deserved. Maybe that's just my bias and wanting to read more about that pairing. But I hope to do Edythe the care she deserves over the course of these 'books'._

 _Without more Adieu, enjoy!_

 _\- Sincerely, B.R_

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

Edythe carried me through the hallway, past other doors I scarcely took in, and stopped in front of the last door of the upstairs hallway. The door opened, and the absence of light ensnared me as she held me, and strode into the chasm. Closing the door behind us, darkness blinded my vision. Edythe didn't need any light to move through the nothingness, and the next thing I knew, I was being set down on a couch of some kind. The fabric was comfortable and soft, with a mildly scratchy sensation against my skin. The material could have been woven by the Roman goddess Arachne and it wouldn't have mattered to me, right now. Rosalie's words kept playing over and over in my head.

 _You're going to implicate every one of us when this – ends badly – unless you do what you have to do._

What did she mean by 'do what you have to do'? Did she mean for Edythe to leave me? Kill me? _Change me?_ Her words wouldn't quiet, and being unable to rightly assume their meaning only made the torment worse. Changing me to become what Edythe was – it sounded frightening; but, the thought of being away from Edythe was infinitely worse. Surely Edythe knew that, surely she wanted to be with me forever?

Sitting together, in the dark, felt like I was in a gilded prison cell. All the finery of Edythe's presence evaporated in the knowledge that the guillotine was about to drop. Her lithe, strong, arms held me dearly against her. Her chest pressed against my own, though she wasn't breathing for so long that it unnerved me. I could feel her fingers gingerly caress along the back of my dark navy turtleneck, and yet it brought little comfort. The silence was deafening, taunting, excruciating; and still, she did not break the tension.

I couldn't blame her for hesitating. In the anxiety of the moment, I found it hard to break someone's heart or spirits. It wasn't easy for me to do with someone I wasn't attracted to. I couldn't imagine how it would feel to break someone's heart who deeply loved you. Even so, I wished she would just say something. Moonlight flooded behind the couch we sat upon, though I hardly noticed it. My eyes closed, and I took in the perfect scent of her hair, to try and memorize everything about her before she crushed me irreparably.

"Bella…" Edythe finally spoke. Had it been a few minutes? An hour? Time felt so strangely intangible.

"Yes?" I blubbered, unable to keep my emotions from corrupting my voice.

Her fingers stilled, pausing wherever they happened to be. Softly pressing her fingertips against my back. "Are you alright?" Her voice was devoid of all warmth, and I found my heart racing with terror.

"I don't know…" I began, pain tightening in my chest. "I'm trying to be."

Her fingers clutched the fabric of my sweater, stretching it away from my skin as one of her hands balled into a fist. "I'm so terribly sorry."

Emotion clutched to her voice; but, it was so faint compared to our time in the meadow. I couldn't bear to lie and tell her it was alright. What if she _was_ breaking up with me? "What for?" I asked, as that question felt safer to me.

She didn't answer right away, she waited until her hand slowly uncoiled to release my sweater. "My behavior downstairs. I never wish to frighten you with my…bestial nature."

Was that all she was worried about? Relief began to wash over me. "I wasn't scared of _you_ , Edythe," I felt my voice gain strength as I leaned away from her shoulder. "I thought Rosalie was going to hurt you."

A dry laugh broke from her lips as she held me more strongly against her chest. "Her? Hurt me? Hardly. She's slower than I am, and far too predictable."

Her impossible superpowers did little to reassure me. "I didn't just mean physically."

Edythe's chest stopped breathing again. "I see."

I waited; but, she said nothing more, and soon my curiosity overwhelmed me. "What did she mean by 'do what you have to do'?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," she said in a harsher tone that demanded I drop the subject.

Unfortunately, I couldn't. It hurt me too greatly to vex over again and again. "No. You need to tell me," my voice wavered again. " _Please_."

The sigh of exasperation she rumbled seemed to echo through the room. "Rosalie..." she struggled for the words. "Feels, like some of the others, that you should become one of us, and to prolong it without a goal in mind is wasting precious time."

The idea that any members of Edythe's family wanted me to join them as a vampire felt like an almost kingly honor, and the flush of joy that filled me sped up my heart rate. Edythe must have sensed it, because she hurriedly spoke before I had a chance to comment.

"She is very angry that you must be changed, and knows I won't do it. She's angry that I can't leave you alone, either," she continued, and if her goal was to distract me from asking about it, it partially worked.

"So, by 'ended badly' she meant…if you lost control?"

She briefly nodded, and her hair swept against my cheek as she pressed her forehead against my temple. "I'm not going to lose control."

"How do you know, Edythe?" My body was trembling, and her hands caressed down my spine again.

"I have made up my mind to do so, and I shall not be deterred," she promised, as though it was that simple. "No one in our family is more stubborn than I."

"I mean...why won't you change me? If it's the only way we can stay together?" Leaning away, I watched the soft moonlight from the window cascade over her troubled face. My hand rose, and trembling, my fingers reached to touch her cold cheek. She didn't stop me, or move away.

Pain washed over her irises. "I can't ask you to make so dear a commitment so soon after we have met."

I could hardly refute her reasoning, even if every ounce of life within me screamed that she was wrong to say so. "How long do you wish to wait, then? To prove that I'll love you forever?"

Edythe shook her head, closing her eyes to shield her pain as she pressed me against her chest again. Blinded by her hair, I didn't stop her. Though I missed seeing the moonlit ensconce her beautiful face. "You needn't prove anything to me, Bella. I am never leaving you," her voice wavered as she ran her fingers through my hair over and over. "I do not have the strength to leave you."

My eyes watered, and pain contorted my face from the effort to produce tears. "Then why won't you change me later on? If I have nothing to prove to you?"

Her chest heaved, and I couldn't understand why when she had no reason to breathe. "Dearest love, your life is infinitely precious. If you became one of us, you would live forever, but hardly with only your joys. You would live with your grief, your regrets. Finding a passion, as Carlisle has, can mend the dark wasteland of eternity; but, you shall always be attached to your sorrows." Her fingers clutched my hair, and I felt the sweetest, most mouth-watering, fluid flood down against my cheek. "I cannot bear to make you suffer, to imprison you with your own guilt forever and ever."

She was pouring her heart to me, and still the crushing weight of eventual end destroyed me. "How will you go on, when I die of old age? Or die in another car accident? Catch illness? Trip up the stairs?" A hoarse sob escaped me, stealing my breath from my stomach as the words choked out of me. "If my life is in jeopardy, will you not save me then?"

Her hands moved behind me, and I heard something wooden creak. The sound made me jump, but when no pain fled through me, my heart began to calm. She seethed against me as though fighting her anger. Unable to formulate why, I begged:

"Please don't let me go…" My eyes burned with tears, salty and arrogant against the beautiful scent that her own had been. "Please, don't even talk of leaving me to die."

The groaning of wood continued, and I realized with a start that the back of the couch must be clutched within her hands. "It would never be like that," she insisted. "We shall have a long and happy life together, and when your time comes to an end, you will go on to heaven."

The idea of heaven, especially right now, only stabbed within me; angered me with a newfound vengeance. "You and I both know I'm not going to heaven," I snapped with more passion than I meant to expel. "People like us don't go to heaven. I _can't_ go to heaven, and if you expect me to go to hell without you, I won't."

"People like us?" She interjected harshly.

"You know exactly what I mean." Angry gobs of tears I could not control seeped aggressively down my face as my own hands balled into fists. Unable to stop myself, I beat them against her arms, her shoulders – anywhere I could reach without aiming for a vulnerable spot. No doubt later it would be a laughable display, as if I could possibly make a dent against her skin. "Don't you dare joke about heaven again."

Edythe let me hit her. She didn't raise a finger from the couch to stop me – only kept her head down. Despair contorted her as golden-bronze hair blanketed her face. "Can you blame me for hoping you could?"

Her voice was that of a broken woman, and remorse drowned me as I clutched her wet face in my hands. "Never…" I promised, with every fiber of my being. "If there was a paradise for us, I'd wish for you to go." Her shoulders sank with an impenetrable heaviness that agonized me.

I moved my fingers to caress over the back of her olive polo in the same way her hands had comforted me. "The only paradise I can hope for is you," I tried to reassure as I looked under her hair to try and join our eyes. I planned to say more; but, she spoke before I could.

"For now, I am," she countered. The words sucked the breath from my body; dizziness filled me from the shock of her saying such a thing. "But if I was gone, perhaps you could find someone else. A...a man your father would approve of."

It was strange how cold I felt – as though all the heat had been sucked through my toes into the carpet I vaguely felt under my shoes. I was so stunned I couldn't breathe again, and I woozily sank against the back of the couch. Shaking uncontrollably with emotions too intense to process.

Before I could catch my breath, much less reply to the bomb which had been dropped in front of me, there was a subtle knock at the door.

"Now is not the time, Alice," Edythe commanded with bile in her voice. Her shoulders tensing up in anguish or anger as she trapped me between her arms and the couch.

Her words didn't matter. The door opened, and I saw the spiky-haired silhouette of Alice gazing into what looked to be a bedroom with curtains covering two of the walls. It was too dark to make out much more, except that the western wall seemed to glisten in the light in several places, like hundreds of CD cases.

"It's the perfect time, Eedee," she insisted. "Besides, Esme and Carlisle want you to clean up your mess in the dining room," Alice said in much firmer tones that I was used to hearing from her.

"Surely _the glass_ can **wait** until morning," Edythe nearly growled, as though she had a foul taste in her mouth.

Alice bounded over to us, reaching out to press the pad of her index finger against my cheekbone. Presumably to wipe away a tear, as I felt dampness comb against my skin. "We both know I'm not talking about the glass," she pointed toward the door and snapped. "Get going, before Esme comes up here herself."

Very gently, Edythe raised me from being on her lap and set me down on the couch. Dejectedly, and with much irritation, Edythe stormed out of the room. In a fast; but, human speed. However, once the door closed I didn't hear her footsteps anymore.

Alone, Alice reached over to touch my shoulder. "I am sorry to interrupt all the" – she strained for the right words, and I could feel her grimace in the darkness. "…'love' in here." She paused, and a sour laugh broke from my lips. "But I felt like you needed a few minutes to breathe."

A sigh, more pained than annoyed, escaped with a heavy breath. "I guess you could say that."

Her arm affectionately wrapped around my shoulder. "It's not easy being what we are, especially at the hundred year mark…" she chuckled her cold breath beside me. While it smelled wonderful, it didn't leave me floored and breathless the way Edythe's did, and I couldn't imagine having that reaction with anyone else. "I suppose you could say Edythe is having a 'midlife crisis'."

My teeth nibbled on my bottom lip in thought. "I can't imagine what that's like."

Alice strained for words, tilting her head as her face raised toward the ceiling, the sky, or simply within her own head. "She will punish me for telling you this, but, Edythe never expected to find anyone she could love this way. She feels she doesn't deserve you, and she has struggled with that unworthiness for a very long time."

I didn't understand her, nor could I understand why Edythe felt that way. "Does she...hate that we're both –"

Alice covered my lips with her mouth. "Shush; not another word like that," she insisted, and I kept my lips still before her fingers slid away. "She worries your feelings will fade when you become a vampire, and you shall only be able to look at her with resentment."

My eyes blinked, far too many times, from that sheer, incomprehensible, notion struggling to swim through my consciousness. "Why would she think that?" It boggled me, made no sense whatsoever. She might as well have said that Edythe could taste the color purple.

Alice anxiously pursed her lip, her face half revealed by the pale moonlight my eyes had better adjusted to see again. "Tis hardly my place to speak for her. Many vampires often end up feeling hatred toward their sires. How we survive, the lives we must take, it can weigh heavily on the soul. For many of us, this passes, and we become merciless creatures who care little for the life of 'lesser beings'."

When she didn't continue right away, I gently nudged her. "But?"

She glanced back to my eyes with worry on her face. "All of us care strongly for the lives of humans, they are our roots, where we came from. All of us were once human, and some, like Rosalie…deeply regret becoming vampires."

The overload of information swamped me, but still, I nodded and listened. My mind racing too incessantly to have anything important to say for several minutes. "If…Rosalie, or other vampires, hate being a vampire so much… can't they…?" I made a choking motion with my finger across my throat, even as bile filled my mouth to make the gesture.

Alice cringed with thinly veiled disgust, remorse more than insult contorting her face. "It is very difficult to kill a vampire, and besides that, it is 'illegal' for us to destroy another vampire without just cause."

"Illegal?" I turned my body to face her fully. "What do you mean?"

Alice set her hands on her lap and sighed softly. "A tale for another day, Bella. Right now it is almost bedtime for the human, and Edythe is going to scratch the door down if I stay another minute," she mentioned cheerfully as she stood with the care of a ballerina twirl. "Goodnight, Bella. We're doing our make-up tomorrow. No 'buts' about it, you will be my masterpiece."

I groaned, and the silhouette of Edythe reemerged as soon as Alice departed. Still appearing dejected, she moved to sit beside me on the couch. Pressing her hand over my own to squeeze it. Her grip so gentle, as if she thought I was held up by feathers under my skin.

She waited several moments before she spoke, and I could only guess that it was because Alice was hovering near the door – speaking unheard comments that Edythe could pick up telepathically. When she raised her head to look into my eyes, I saw my own pain mirrored in her eyes in the moonlight, and I raised my hand to touch her face again.

"My darling, can you ever forgive me?"

My eyes stung, and my heart wept as I clutched her cheeks to pull her toward me. "There's nothing to forgive."

Her pained eyes conveyed that she was not convinced; but, they did glimmer with hope as she carefully leaned in those few inches to kiss me.

Whether it was the threat of losing her, or the understanding of what she had been through that rendered me incapable of being torn from her, I kissed her back with hunger. Too much hunger. But instead of disappearing, her hands slid around my waist. She drew me onto her lap and eagerly kissed me. A sound escaped me, one that felt so alien to me, that spurred a whispered moan to gasp against mouth in return.

Still holding her perfect face, my nails began to press harder against her jawline, and in the pin of that moment she broke from me. Suddenly we were at opposite ends of the couch. I panted; inflamed. She struggled to hold her breath, hands balled into fists in front of her. To wait for the flare up of what I presumed to be incredible thirst to pass.

"I—I'm sorry," I whispered, aching as I watched her sear in agony.

She smiled at me, a dark and curled smile I barely saw in the moonlight, that send burning shivers all over me. "Don't be. I am grateful to have been strong enough…"

A blush colored my face, and I hoped the darkness would mask it as I looked away from her. "I wasn't, though."

I heard her laugh, felt the couch stir, and gasped as her arms enveloped me. "Believe me, if we were human, I shan't have struggled this long."

Her fingers combed through my hair, brushing locks behind my ear to better view my puffy-eyed face. Of course, her was exquisitely devoid of faults. "So you really want to _do that_ with me?"

She laughed again, and my heart leapt to join her in spirit as she crawled across the couch to kiss me again. I began to kiss back, and she withdrew before a deeper kiss could start. "You do not make it easy to resist you. Especially in that sweater…I am very partial to that color with your skin tone."

My face burned, and I found myself wrapping my arms across my chest to try and hide myself from being noticed. "It's just a sweater."

"Indeed, but it brings out the subtle hints of red in your hair," She explained, and I wondered how she noticed when we hadn't been in the sunlight before I inwardly laughed at my stupidity. We'd been in the meadow for hours today. Our time there had real, despite how dreamlike it registered to me.

"Sunlight reveals things in both of us, I guess," I teased, awkwardly pressing my back into the couch.

"Indeed it does," she countered, sliding closer to wrap her arm around my waist from the side, than bringing me into her lap again.

"You seem to be doing much better around me, now," I commented as I tried to brush locks of her hair behind her ear. Moonlight bathed her face, and with my eyes adjusted to the dimmer light again, I could scarcely notice anything else.

"Am I?" She wondered aloud. "Perhaps it is because having you near me makes it easier to resist the thirst, I have become accustomed to you, now," she shook her head gently with a laugh. "Albeit, when we part, I shall have to start all over again and again."

The idea of her going through torture plucked at me, and I pursed my lips. "If us being apart makes it harder for you, then I think we should stay together as much as possible."

I could feel the scowl curl her lips downward before I saw the disapproval mask her face. "It certainly would help; but, it's..."

"'Hardly appropriate'," I spoke over her, parroting her earlier words. "But what about our relationship is appropriate, anyway?"

She continued to scowl, tilting her head toward me with a long, drawn out, sigh. "Bella..." She began. "If I was a boy, you wouldn't be asking me this."

I scoffed, so loudly that I snorted. "I really don't think I'd care, your thirst would be the same, and it's very hard to be away from you, too," my hand reached out to shove her gently, not that it did anything. "And quit saying all this 'if you were a boy' nonsense. Your soul is mated to my soul, and we can't change what is." My mind raced back to Alice saying I was Edythe's 'mate'. Perhaps that is what she meant.

Edythe furrowed her brow as she looked at me. As if wondering if I was making that up or not; reasoning with herself. Finally, she interwove our fingers and relented with a gentle nod. "My soul is yours, if I even have one to give. Until your last breath, I am yours, even beyond your life – I shall find you in the underworld," she promised, and tears of an entirely different cause tugged at my eyes incorrigibly.

"I'm holding you to that," I began as we leaned in to kiss each other. My face tickled by her shoulder-length hair covering my eyes from the beams of moonlight bathing us from behind the couch. "But..."

She spoke against my lips, unwilling to part our careful kisses completely. "But?"

I bit my lip, struggling badly to resist pressing my lips to her own. All thought of conversation flew away overhead on the wind, like balloons slipping into heaven. Unfortunately, the desperation to confess my desire was stronger than the urge to forget everything and keep kissing her. "I want to become what you are."

She leaned away with a look that I could only describe as disgust or loathing. "No."

"Please," I begged, reaching for her hand again.

She moved it, as though she had lost all desire to touch me. "No, you cannot ask this of me, now."

"Then I will ask you later, and I'll keep asking you until you do it," I insisted, unable to handle the idea of being apart from her for any length of time – especially if there was no heaven, and we simply ceased to exist after death.

Her head turned to me, beseeching me to relent. "Bella, isn't one long and happy life with me enough for you?"

She reached for my hand, and without malignity I interloped our fingers again. I could not bear to punish her, not when her eyes languished. Pleading with such an overpowering, tortured, dampness. "It is, for now."

Perhaps she knew there was no escaping my demand, or she was satisfied enough to feel she could convince me another day. Her head softly bobbed in acknowledgment, before she moved to lay down and patted the space between her body and the back of the couch. "Rest with me," she asked, and I could not refuse her.

Crawling across the couch, careful to not have my knee-length corduroy pencil skirt hike up as I did so, I lay against her side and rested my head on her shoulder. Kicking off my shoes before my feet touched the couch, in an unconscious habit to maintain the sanctity of any sleeping place.

"You are the dearest person in my life, Bella," she reiterated as her fingers toyed through my hair. Bushing along my scalp as she nestled her temple against the back of my head. She smelled so perfect, so warm compared to her usually frozen state. "But now, it is time for you to sleep."

"I really don't want to, yet," I insisted; but, exhaustion from the lengthy day was already making my eyes heavy.

"Mhm, you heart-rate says otherwise," she teased, and before I could register what she was doing, her hand tugged a blanket from the back of the couch. Some kind of soft, cotton, fabric that reminded me of the quilt from my bed was being wrapped around me with Edythe's free arm. Her other held me around my waist, gingerly combing over my sweater and lower back.

Closing my eyes, I heard the dulcet, honeyed, voice of my beloved singing softly beside my head. A tune I couldn't recognize, plucking sweetly like harp or guitar strings. Under the captive spell of her enchanting voice, my eyes drew taut, my breathing became shallow as I drifted into a dreamless bliss.

The soft, muted, light of another cloudy day eventually woke me. I lay with my arm across my eyes, groggy and dazed. Something that felt like a dream desperate to be remembered, struggled at the corners of my consciousness. I groaned, and tried to roll on my stomach, hoping more sleep would come, only to feel something soft and hard beside me. The precious evening flooding into my awareness as I realized I had rolled over onto Edythe.

"Oh!" I sat up so fast it made my head spin.

Edythe laughed, a book being closed in her left hand, cast away to a wooden end table beside her. "Well, your hair has become a haystack; but, I rather like it." Her unruffled voice flooded beside me, and my face burned as I watched her laying beside me; head resting against the arm of the couch.

Her lips curled into a devious drawl, as though proud of how easily she made me flush. "Edythe! You stayed with me all night," I rejoiced, and thoughtlessly threw my arms around her olive-colored torso. I froze – shocked by my own uncontrolled enthusiasm. My eyes raised to gaze into her eyes worriedly, afraid I had crossed some kind of line.

Her lips broke as she laughed again, smirking gaily. "But, of course, where else would I go?" She replied; clearly pleased at my reaction to her.

Cautiously resting my head against her shoulder again, I breathed in strongly to absorb the blissful smell of her skin. Her body felt so warm, like my bed in the summer, in evidence to the truth in her voice. "I feared last night was a dream."

"It was rather surreal," she agreed, raising her head to brush soft kisses along my temple.

My hand raised, scratching softly through her ridiculously silky, fine, hair. "Hmm..." I sighed, incandescently happy.

She held me for several minutes, thrumming her voice in soft notes again as she held me.

Unfortunately, nature beckoned, and I awkwardly smiled up at her. "Um…Edythe?"

She tilted her head in perplexity, like a dog. "Yes, dearest?" She asked as her fingers brushed over my spine; sending shivers everywhere. Which did not help my present problem.

"Do you...have a bathroom?"

The laugh that bellowed from Edythe's mouth was far louder than I felt it needed to be. Embarrassed to the point of being irritated, I scowled at her. "It's not – that – funny..." I sat up from her arms, and she moved to sit sideways to no longer trap me against the couch.

"No, no, dearest. I simply keep forgetting that you're human. When you need to eat, or do other things. I'm feeling rather foolish at myself, and it's easier to laugh at my mistakes," she explained as she stood from the couch and held out her hand to me. She was wearing socks, like I was, her shoes tumbled on the floor beside my own.

"Well, you better play some music or something, I don't really want you to hear these human moments," I scowled with a groan as she led me from the couch. Her room was a medium-sized chamber with two walls covered in soft, beige, curtains. An entire wall devoted to records and CDs, that I walked from too quickly to examine the titles of.

Edythe led me to one of the nearby rooms and opened the door to a room much larger than her own. The bath and shower were so large it made my jaw drop. It was larger than Charlie's kitchen, with what could only be an expensive Jacuzzi bathtub and a wide glass suite that held what looked to be a luxurious rainfall shower. The tiles were exquisite mosaics pieced together of tiny, colorful, stones. A great tapestry of beautifully embroidered patterns along the entirety of the back wall. The attention to detail, rich without being overwhelming, filled me with awe. A skylight above caused natural light to flood into the room, making up for its decided lack of a proper window. How beautiful the stars must look above it, if the clouds ever let up enough to show them.

"Wow," I mumbled, barely paying attention as Edythe opened a light, airy, cabinet and tugged an expensive-looking towel free from the middle section. The sink and toilet looked brand new, like they had never before been used, and were there simply to maintain appearances of normalcy.

She smirked as she handed it to me, my eyes still taking in the grandeur of the room. "I take it you fancy our work."

"Your work?" I asked in a daze, holding the big towel against my chest.

"Mhm. Esme, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and I all worked on updating the bathroom last year," she mentioned with a chuckle. "Not that we use all of it. While we don't actually _need_ to bathe unless we fall in the mud, it _does_ feel wonderful to soak on occasion."

"Uh-huh," I mumbled lamely as I continued to take in the bathroom light glistening on the exquisite pattern of the bath-side wall, soft-white tiles everywhere else, and light marble flooring.

She grinned almost maliciously with eagerness at my sense of wonder. "Well, while you get...cleaned up, etcetera, I will wait for you downstairs," she mentioned as she approached me. All focus drained from the beautiful bathroom to look at her deviously crooked smile and wicked eyes that knotted my stomach with butterflies. She kissed me, deeper than usual, but softer than last night before she parted from me. "Don't take too long, ms. Swan."

"H-how do you use the shower?" I asked, feeling rather silly as she turned back around to snicker at me darkly.

"You turn the spigot with an 'H' to the right? Add the other if it's too hot? How any shower works, I imagine," she mentioned playfully, before she walked to the bathroom sink and reached for a tiny porcelain cup. Shaking it in her hand to reveal something dancing inside it. "Esme went out and bought you some toiletries. I hope this toothbrush will do for you?"

Approaching the sink, I took in the sight of the smorgasbord staring up at me. Not having noticed the toothbrush holder, I recognized several top-quality bottles nestled in a cozy section of the bathroom counter. Shampoo, conditioner, bath soaps, lotions, face wash – it overwhelmed me how many different choices there were. "Did she buy out the store?"

Edythe laughed heartily and shook her head. "Perhaps. She wasn't sure what you would like and left before I could give her pointers. There are also four other kinds of unopened toothbrushes in that front drawer there. I picked this one because it's the most similar to the one you already use."

My eye narrowed suspiciously at her. "How did you know I use round-head toothbrushes, or what shampoo I use?"

The devious look beamed like a spotlight in her topaz eyes. "When I went home to fetch your car, I...had a little look around," she explained, no remorse on her mischievous face. "I am very curious about you, and besides that it was where your pants were. I could smell the keys in your pocket."

Not questioning her super powered nose, I blinked excessively with thought as I tried to muster the anger I felt I should feel. The proper amount of outrage never settled within me, though. I was more flattered than outraged that she was so entranced by me. "If that's all it was, I guess I can't be mad at that. I'd probably snoop too, if I had the chance."

Her grin shone from ear to ear as she leaned forward to kiss my burning cheek. "You don't have to snoop, I'll show you whatever you want to see after breakfast."

My hands unconsciously raised; almost dropping the towel to hold my throat defensively.

What amusement had blanketed Edythe's face instantly melted to anger. "That is not funny, Bella."

A sheepish smile curled my mouth. "It's a _little_ funny," I countered, and she sighed.

"Don't take too long, Alice is already setting up outfits for you to pick from."

A groan escaped me. "Oh no…can't you talk to her?"

"Nope! I have already spared you from her exploits, I shan't dampen her spirits a second time," and with that note, she was gone. Gently closing the door behind me as I heard her footsteps heavily pad away down the hall. No doubt for my benefit.

Ugh, trying on clothes. Was there really nothing I could do to stop Alice? Wasn't doing make up today bad enough without being her personal model?

Setting the towel down on the counter, I poured through the giant army of bottles Esme had bought for me. Twelve shampoos, twenty conditioners, and six body soaps, at the very least, stared me in the face. Indecision paralyzed me, and I resorted to opening every bottle and smelling the scent from each one to narrow them down. It took near ten minutes to sort the choices down to three bottles. A shampoo, a conditioner, and a lathery shower foam with a custom spigot. Everything else I shoved into one of the empty duel sinks and the top drawers of the bathroom counter. Unable to handle being watched by so many colorful labels as I did my business.

It became clear to me, once I stepped into the steady rainfall, that I might never experience so wonderful a shower ever again. Thoroughly spoiled with the tremendous dance of semi-hard raindrops falling all over me, I didn't want to leave once the water had started. Any sensation I felt reassured me that this was real, everything here in the Cullen's house – including my beloved Edythe – was not a figment of overactive imagination.

To my knowledge, no one had entered the bathroom while I bathed; but, when I stepped out and wrapped myself in a towel, there was a long purple bathrobe waiting for me on the back of the door. Perhaps I simply hadn't noticed it before I got in. Shrugging off the weird feeling that it had been just set there, I wrapped my hair in the towel and approached the robe.

As I shrugged the my arms into the holes and wrapped the robe around my body, an excited knock suddenly rapped at the door. Startled; I gasped with an embarrassing squeal that made me clutch my hand to my heart.

"Eek! Sorry, Bella! Are you decent?" Of course it was Alice.

I peeked the door open, and inwardly groaned as I recognized dress-bags of clothes in her hands. No doubt an outfit under each one that she wanted me to try on. "H-Hey Alice," I said with more discouragement than I wanted to let on.

Alice seemed oblivious to my torment as she grinned and forged her way into the bathroom. Unable to stop her, I decided it was fruitless to try, and watched as she set both bags down on the bathroom counter. Unzipping them one by one to place shirts, skirts, and dresses on the counter top. A plethora of shoes, including the ones I had worn here, dumped on the light carpet between us in strangely orderly piles. She moved in such a blur, I barely noticed what she was doing until the piles were there, and I was left with the same sickening feeling I'd had at seeing so many bottles earlier. The torture of indecision crushed down on me as Alice stopped her alien movements and gracefully twirled before me.

"Now, Bella, you must get over your aversion to fashion!" She insisted, and I had the deja vu that she'd already said that before. "I have everything arranged in the same pile that goes together, with the shoes in order, too," she touched one of the piles, a pretty brown button-up thermal shirt and jeans poking out from under her fingers. "I suggest these, as they'll go with your necklace best," she mentioned, and I found myself touching Edythe's shark-tooth necklace that was still tied around my neck. It had a soft, threaded, chord holding it together – it was so comfortable to me that I had completely forgotten that I was still wearing it.

"Um, okay, Alice," I mumbled, so knotted up I wondered how I would be able to even stomach breakfast this morning.

Alice danced on the balls of her feet, donning another expensive-looking set of impressive heels on her tiny feet. "Don't fret too much about it, you're going home with all of them."

I was? Where on Earth was I going to put them all? I only had the one dresser! "Alice, I _really_ don't need all these clothes."

"I'm only teasing, some of these will be here for you as back-ups; But, you're bringing – some – of them home. I won't hear another word about it," Alice insisted with a wrinkle of fairy impishness to her beaming smile before she hopped in a bounce of enthusiasm.

"Take your time, Bella, and leave all your favorites on the counter for me to wrap them up for you," Alice said as she folded the empty designer-quality clothing bags over her arms and excused herself from the bathroom. Left alone, with so many lavish things I felt guilty being showered with, I approached the counter and began thumbing through the massive horde…


	18. Chapter Seventeen - Carlisle

_This chapter ended up taking so much more time than I thought it would. In part because of some difficult health issues involving my mom, and in part because this chapter originally hit me more deeply than I thought it would. The beginning was erased and rewritten three times before I resolved the writer's block, and the final product reveals enough to guide for future chapters, without making the plot move too fast for my taste._

 _As always, post your remarks in the comments below, I'd be interested to know if this chapter identifies with anyone else. Sometimes, it feels very lonesome to have a more religious background than others who are 'out' and about, so to speak. I don't want to put too much of myself in Bella though, so I have stripped away many things I added for that reason; but, a glimmer of me isn't a bad thing. It's the spark all writers need to add for our own flavor to the stew. I also loved writing for Carlisle, I feel like they need to get to know each other in a more fatherly/daughterly way than the original books managed to do._

 _All the info I found about Renee and Bella's grandmother I found via a twilight Wiki page. Hopefully I read the details correctly, but if not, I hope you don't mind my take on the situation._

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen**

I wasn't sure how much time had passed since Alice left me alone with the small battalion of clothing. Only that it seemed so much brighter in the hall once the door was opened again. Not seeing anyone waiting for me, I stepped out into the quiet hallway. Wearing long jeans and a dark form-fitting, emerald, sweater, the sound of music entranced me. Soft piano keys beckoned me to come downstairs, and for a moment I debated going downstairs to investigate the jubilant dance of keys. Surely Edythe was playing the piano, unless someone else had musical talent.

Unfortunately, as I stepped down the hallway, I noticed something I hadn't seen before. A giant wooden cross was hanging diagonally from the ceiling at the end of the hall. Perhaps I had been so focused on my pain last night to look up, and been too focused on going to the restroom to bother looking behind me this morning. Held afloat by large metal strings, the light from the south-facing window cascaded over its ornate, simple, edges. A cross, in this house of vampires was an unexpected splash of water to the face. Once I noticed the shadowy figure beaming down, as if from heaven, I couldn't bear to move.

Memories flooded through me, and my sneakers stayed planted where they were on the light carpet.

When my mom and I lived with my grandmother in California, there were wooden crosses, doves, and fish embellishments in almost every corner of the house. A bible on a little alter that no one was allowed to touch or read, even though it was flooded with underlines and blemished words scribbled illegibly across the margins.

I understood, being older, why my mom had been in such a hurry to get as far away from my grandmother as she could. That same drive had driven her to flee far away from Charlie so soon after I was born. She hated being trapped or ensnared by anything, even herself. What I remembered of my grandmother wasn't all bad, of course. She used to make fruit drop cookies with blackberry currant, or blackberry cobbler, from the wild brush that grew all over the roads by her house. I spent summers treading the thorny thicket for the sweet, juicy, bites of seedy fruit; coming home with red stained fingers.

As with the berries I craved, my grandmother Rosemary Higginbotham was a strange mixture of temperaments. Where I was concerned, she was always gentle and cheerful. Reading me book after book to engage my mind toward her zealous views. She was one of the most important people in my early life, and I believed every word she breathed before I was old enough to think for myself. However, Renee, my mom, and Grandma Rosemary fought almost constantly. To the point where I remembered hiding in the master bedroom to ignore the bellowing at the other end of the small, one-story, house. What they argued about was a haze to me. I couldn't remember the exact wording anymore; but, the content I could grasp was that Rosemary thought my mom was selfish and irresponsible. That she made a mistake when she left my father.

My mother told me, years later, that Charlie had made several attempts to win her back over the years, and these fights with my grandmother were a result of the last time my mom had briefly considered the possibility of making amends with him. Despite most of these memories vanishing into a blur, there were some strong words I remembered.

Words that haunted me, even if the ghost hadn't revealed itself until now.

 _Adulterers go to Hell, Renee._

In the smoggy soup of blurred words, the idea of my mother being sent away to Hell terrified me. How could my mother be an adulterer? She never cheated on Charlie. The concept of what adultery was to my grandmother didn't make sense to my naive mind. Yes, my mom was always flighty; floating from adventure to adventure on the string of a buoyant kite. If it wasn't a new man in her life, it was a new fad to try out. A new religion, or friends Rosemary would find 'uncouth'. A new job, a new possibility, and not all of these explorations had been good. However, surely none of these things could warrant eternal suffering? Was my mother tainted because she and Charlie divorced? Was there no hope for her, then?

Grandmother Higginbotham seemed to feel resentful of my mother, saying she had been a bird in my life. Floating from job to job, giving me a kiss in the morning and a kiss at night. She was an almost absent figure simply from trying so hard to support us in the early years. A stark contrast to the closeness we had formed after we moved out of Grandma Higginbotham's house, and moved in with some friends in Phoenix. I found out later that the reason we lived with Grandma Higginbotham was because she made a bad business venture, and my mom couldn't afford to rent an apartment there anymore.

' _Hell is a terrible place, Izzie-bean, where evildoers burn forever and ever in a lake of fire,'_ Grandma Rosemary would explain to me after Sunday school, always with the same serious tone of voice. She'd point to red words in the maw of the wooden-framed bible. The antique I wasn't allowed to touch, like the cross pinned to the sky that froze me now.

Dozen upon dozens of lessons were instilled in me. Perhaps I was too young to understand, too little to deeply go over the chapters of the bible. Why wouldn't it be wise to instantly believe everything Grandma Rosemary said? But, by the time I was old enough to comprehend my grandmother's narrow views, we had moved, and Renee didn't allow bibles in the house.

Remembering the way Edythe's pale skin gleamed in the soft sunlight, my mind raced for a moment. The similarities striking me in a sudden realization.

In the old Testament, there was a story of two cities that burned. Angels had come to rescue one small family from the chaos, but as they fled, Lot's wife turned back toward Sodom. Disobeying the words of warning that the angels had made, for one fleeting look at the life she loved. It made me wonder to myself, and my mind was rampant.

Had Lot's wife become a vampire? Could that have been the start? A human bound forever in one shape, shunned from heaven, for finding the cares of her earthly life more important than the shelter of God? The story frightened me, both for a city being destroyed with fire and brimstone, and a woman cursed into a pillar of salt because she turned her head. How many times had I looked where I shouldn't look? Or gone where I shouldn't have gone? Why was she turned into salt for it?

Ageless, unchanging, cold, lifeless, was that what my Edythe was? A marble pillar, movable salt that was impenetrable to destruction and separated forever from paradise? Cursed to watch all their loved ones die? It was such an illogical thought; but, the parody was similar enough to give me chills. Why would anyone like Lot's wife, someone 'cursed' or 'unnatural' want any kind of reminder of salvation in their home?

"Bella?"

The voice caught me off guard, a soft breeze of concern and warmth that beckoned me to turn my head away from the great cross. I acquiesced, unthinkingly, and saw Carlisle was standing in the doorway of what looked to be a well-stocked study. A high-ceiling room with tall, west-facing, windows. The walls were paneled again, in a darker wood, where they were visible. Most of the visible space behind Carlisle was taken up by towering bookshelves that stretched high above my head. More books than I had ever seen outside of a library.

Carlisle seemed to have recently gotten up from the leather chair that sat behind a huge mahogany desk. A bookmark was pressed between the pages of what seemed to be an antique journal; but, I didn't notice it longer than a casual glance to tell for sure.

"Hey Carlisle, did I disturb you?"

Edythe's father figure shook his head, a melodic chuckle bubbling from his mouth as he looked behind him and gestured to his desk. "Not at all, I was just jotting down some notes for the day," he mentioned vaguely, only to turn his head in the direction I had been staring toward. A deeply somber expression masked his face as he gazed toward the dark patina of the large wooden cross contrast with the white-washed walls on either side of it.

"Ah," Carlisle hummed thoughtfully. "I see you found my father's cross."

Perplexed, I looked to the cross and back, trying too hard to study his face. "Do you remember much of your father, Carlisle?

"Some," he mentioned. His voice hauntingly drifting from his lips.

"It's very beautiful," I mentioned, in an effort to break the silence with a compliment. It seemed silly to blame a person for being nostalgic, when I had all kinds of silly things at my room in Phoenix that would be considered junk by everyone else in the world.

"It's from the time of my human life, the early sixteen-thirties."

"You are over three hundred years old?" I asked, feeling my forehead tense from the curiosity burning my face.

Carlisle's eyes bloomed with compassion as he nodded gently to me. "Indeed I was. Born into English rule, London, specifically," he gestured inside his study. The music still trailed on downstairs, but, I could barely hear it. "I can explain more of my past if you wish, Bella," he offered, as he held the door of his study open.

"Only if it isn't bothersome," I replied, unable to squelch my longing to know more of Carlisle's former life.

He smiled, as though finding the idea of my trepidation adorable or endearing. "Not at all, please have a seat."

Without another word I vanished into the study and took a seat. Wandering my eyes over the study now that Carlisle wasn't partially blocking the view, I realized that the room reminded me of a fancy college dean's office. Although, Carlisle certainly looked far too young to be a college dean. Swiveling in a guest chair to better take in the room, I realized that the wall around the door we'd come through was littered with pictures. Picture frames of all sizes – some in vibrant colors, others in dull monochromes. I searched for some logic between the collage of paintings, some binding motif that the collection had in common; but, they all resembled the random scrapbook clippings of dozens of magazines cut onto a poster board. Private memories without context.

Carlisle seemed to point toward the wall, at one picture in particular. He guided me to point at the right one, to the painting cast in various tones of sepia. It depicted a miniature of a city full of slanted roofs. Thin spires atop a few of the scattered towers of the landscape. A wide river filled the foreground, crossed by a bridge covered with structures that looked like tiny cathedrals.

"Medieval London," he mentioned, and I felt foolish at the sound of awe that slipped from my mouth like the first time a toddler saw tigers in the zoo. Feeling incredibly stupid, I was relieved that he couldn't see my face.

"What was it like, back then?" I asked, in an effort to distract him from dwelling on my ridiculous 'Ooo' sound from before.

"Troubled is the best word I can use to describe it," he said, a smile lighting his words as he continued to speak. "The world is rarely kind, Bella. Especially in the hands of those who deem themselves more fit to pass judgments than others. As it has always been with man, even our kind as well," he commented, and I had the weird feeling that he was hoping to mask some of his history from me.

Deep down, I had a feeling I shouldn't inquire too greatly now, but my curiosity outweighed the need to be polite. "What do you remember about your life, Carlisle?"

Swiveling my chair back around as quietly as possible, Carlisle appeared to be vexed. His eyes still looming over the painting behind my head. "I only remember what I made myself write down, in those times. My father was an Anglican pastor, and he was a very" – he struggled for the word – "intolerant, man."

Carlisle expelled a soft sigh at the reminder, and I regret having forced him to recall a painful past; but, I selfishly refused to risk saying anything that might stop him either.

"I do not know how much you know of Christian history; but, when I lived, the protestants came into power. My father was very, hmm, 'enthusiastic' of his persecution of Roman Catholics and patrons of other religious views. He believed very strongly in a skewered reality of evil. He led hunts for all manner of 'ghouls' and 'specters'. Pagans, werewolves, even vampires." The laugh that escaped his lips was cold, and dry, even if there was humor in his eyes.

"My father and those who believed in him burned a great deal of innocent people. When he grew too old to continue these hunts, he placed me in charge of his raids. I remember disappointing him greatly, for not acting with the prejudiced swiftness he expected from me," he paused, his eyes lingering over the closed journal on the desk in front of him. Absentmindedly absorbed in his thoughts beyond this cozy, leather-scented, room.

"During the last weeks leading up to the end of my life, I thought we had discovered a true clan of vampires hidden in the sewers under London. When I felt the moment was right, many of our church congregation joined my hunting party with torches and weapons to drive the creatures out of their hovel."

Biting my lip anxiously, I offered Carlisle the softest of nods to try and encourage him to continue.

"Eventually, a figure emerged," he paused, as though his throat was wet with emotion; but, I saw no evidence of a struggle on his face as he spoke. Only that he wasn't able to hold his gaze with my own as he contemplated the event in his mind. "He must have been ancient and weak from starvation. I remember he spoke in Latin into the sewers, perhaps warning his brethren of our company," His fingers titillated across the surface of his journal. "Three men, who still remained beside me, rushed with me into the night after the vampire."

He laughed, very softly. "To think, I thought we could stop him," he mentioned, as if the scene happened yesterday. "In hindsight, he could easily have outrun us, but I imagine the vampire was too starved from our many weeks of guarding the exits of the sewers. He turned, attacked, and in the chaos I was thrown to the ground. The others lay dead on the street, and by the time I mustered to try and stand up, I saw the vampire disappear with one of the men in his arms." His eyes sank lower still, until strands of beautiful blond hair cascaded over his forehead.

"As I lay there, writhing and bleeding on the street, I knew what would happen if I was discovered. We burned every body or thing potentially effected by a vampire, and I would be burned to death no differently than those my father had accused. I acted from instinct, crawling into a grate that delved into an abandoned cellar. Hiding under rotting turnips as my life was absolved from me."

He said nothing after that. For the longest time, his tortured gaze lingered over the cover of his leather-bound journal; watching until the silence became too deafening to me.

"Carlisle, how did you survive on your own?"

Another dry laugh bubbled from his lips. "Through great pains, Bella. I attempted to destroy myself through starvation. I jumped from great heights, to no avail. Most newborn vampires do not possess the strength to resist human blood; but, I could not bear to stain my soul, and while I am certain Edythe, Esme, our family, consider me strong for being able to resist feeding on humans...the fact remains that I abhorred what I had become to the point where I could delay my thirst."

"How did you survive if you didn't" – I hated saying the word, but I couldn't think of another to use – "drink?"

"A twist of fate, you might say. A lamb in the thicket," he paused a moment, smiling warmly at me, as though he was far more pleased to share this aspect of his past than the others. "One night, a herd of deer passed by me in the woodland outside of London. I was so desperate from thirst, I ravished without a second thought. My strength returned to me, and I realized there was an alternative to being a mindless, unholy, devourer. I could exist through the consumption of animal blood, without ever needing to take the lives of my fellow man."

Absorbed by the thought of Carlisle hunting deer, my lips remained silent as he studied my face for a reaction. Holding my gaze with a pensive gleam to his features.

"After that, I elected to make better use of the time I would have. I studied by night, planned by day. Swam to France, and – "

"You – swam – to France?" The question bolted from my lips in surprise.

The chuckle he made caused his eyes to sparkle with amusement. "The Channel is not an impossible feat for a human, much less for one such as myself," he explained. "But I swam to France, continued my way through Europe. Attending the universities there. Music, science, medicine."

"Is that why you're a doctor Carlisle?" I asked when he paused.

"Tis not the only reason for being so," he began. "I love helping others, it gives me happiness, and some form of penance for being what I am."

My mind raced too much to answer, and my mouth began to throb. I'd been unconsciously biting down too hard on my bottom lip.

"Careful, Bella," Carlisle mentioned warmly as he handed me an unused, unopened, box of Kleenex. Perhaps he had a box for if there would ever be human guests visiting the house, but it looked as though the box was old, unopened for years, maybe even decades. I wasn't sure why he handed it to me until I felt the wetness on my lip, and dabbed the kleenex against my mouth with wide, frozen, eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry" – I held the kleenex to the tiny cut on my lip – "thanks for this."

"It is no trouble to me, Bella," the voice came from behind me, and I swiveled in the chair to see that Carlisle must have blurred behind me. The door had been closed, for whatever reason, and a small fan was turned on overhead. Was it to ask the smell of blood? That was the only logic I could think of as Carlisle sat back down.

"Can I ask..." I began, wetting my lips and dabbing them before I continued. "Why is it that blood doesn't bother you very much?"

"Years and years of practice," he chuckled again. "Two centuries of self-control might cause any man to overcome his frailties," he added in teasing tones, clearly trying to set me at ease as he looked at my lip. A doctor's habit perhaps, as he suddenly had some kind of small lip cream from his pocket, like neosporin, that he opened to begin to dab against the cut on my lip. Trusting his hands completely, I didn't stop him, simply watched the keen, focused, precision of his gaze.

"Hmm, where was I?" He asked, and I had a feeling that he only asked to be courteous or engaging.

"You went to Europe, studying," I parroted, letting the cream do it's work on my little scratch.

"Ah, yes," he gestured to another painting on the wall. To a beautiful canvas overflowing with bright figures in swirling robs, writhing around long pillars or perched upon marble balconies. I couldn't tell if the painting represented Greek mythology, or if the characters floating in the clouds above were of biblical significance.

"When I was studying in Italy, I discovered other vampires who spent their days immersed in study. Far more civilized and educated than the wraith which had altered me," he explained, and I smiled as I recognized a familiar-looking blond with long hair at the corner of the painting. It was, without a doubt, Carlisle standing there, and the visage of his hair drawn back into a gentleman's ponytail made it difficult not to laugh.

"Solimena was greatly inspired by the new friends I had made, and he often painted us as Gods," he chuckled as he slowly stood. Walking toward the wall of paintings, I found myself slipping from the chair as well to follow him. Admiring the painting up close with hungry eyes taking in the banquet of intricate brush strokes.

"Aro, Marcus, Caius," he pointed to each one. Two of them had rich black hair, and one of them was a light, blond, man. "Nocturnal patrons of the arts."

Something in his words made me wonder if these friends of his were still alive. "What happened to them?" I asked, my fingertips hovering centimeters away from the figures plastered to the ancient canvas.

"They are still in Italy, of course," he mentioned thoughtfully. "I only stayed with them a short time, a few decades. I admired their civility, how refined they were. However, they desired me to 'cure' me of my aversion to what they believe to be our 'natural food source'. Due to these differences, and wishing to begin anew in the 'New World', I boarded a ship for the Americas."

The idea of Carlisle, stuck on a ship like the Mayflower, was certainly enough nourishment to keep my brain occupied. I daydreamed of what it might have been like to hide out in the tiny underbelly of a ship, unable to leave except for the night hours. How did he manage to eat, if he did not hunt humans? Did he leap from the boat and hunt down a suitable shark, as Edythe and Emmett had done? A soft chuckle escaped me, it seemed so strange to picture a professional doctor living another life. The same person, with different clothing and hairstyles, traversing from place to place.

"Is that when you 'changed' Edythe?"

The question seemed to haunt Carlisle, and his eyes grew somber as he gazed off toward the window behind his desk. "No, not for some time after that. I searched, hoping I might find other like-minded vampires. It seemed too great a sin to alter someone for my own comforts, and I avoided doing so for as long as I possibly could bear to be alone."

My brows furrowed watching the ghostly remnant of pain cross over Carlisle's reluctant eyes. "Was Edythe always a daughter to you, Carlisle?" Watching a nearly offended sheen overcast his expression, I panicked and corrected myself. "I-I mean, is she all you could have hoped for in a daughter? I don't know how it is when you alter someone. Is there a bond made when you change someone?"

Relief turned to a miniature anguish as he looked over another painting. It looked to be an old city, like New York or Chicago in the early nineteen hundreds, but I couldn't be certain without someone explaining the picture to me. "You imply the superstition of a sire's bond? No, not in the sense of a servantship between us. It is very akin to any other predator, a serpent's bite. If a bond is created, it is from a desire for kinship that comes from our own soul, and not created simply from altering another," he explained, looking from the painting to my eyes again. "But, to answer your question, yes. I am very fond of Edythe. Had I been able to be married and have children in my human life, I might have hoped for a daughter such as her."

The door softly opened then, to reveal that the music had stopped. Edythe stood gently there, a deeply thoughtful sheen over her eyes as she watched me. Perhaps wondering what my thoughts were on Carlisle's history, or what I might be considering if she heard the questions I had asked float through Carlisle's mind.

"Edythe, welcome," Carlisle greeted with enthusiasm. "I was sharing some of our history."

A hand caressed around the small of my back, stretching softly until Edythe had her arm gently entangled around my waist. She had changed while I was in the shower, and she wore a soft button-down shirt and jeans. Soft fabric, like silk, pressed against the outside of my sweater as she held me. So gently, and yet lightning flickered through me. How badly I had missed her, even with my curiosity of Carlisle's life, my soul could only sing again when she was near.

Edythe appeared to be cheered, her eyes damp with jubilance. "I wouldn't believe everything Carlisle says, I was a rather impetuous 'newborn'," Edythe mentioned with a snicker. "I rebelled, as children often do, and went off on my own for a while."

"You were dearly missed," Carlisle countered playfully. "Esme fret incessantly."

"Believe me, I shall not forget it," Edythe teased in return, a chuckle bubbling up so beautifully from her throat. "Yet, alas, the prodigal child returned."

Having nearly melted into her arm, I found myself being pressed against the side of her body. Unable to resist once the cool gentleness of her body began to chill me, my head slowly eased to rest against her shoulder. She had wrapped her hair into a small ponytail, and her full bouquet of scent enveloped me with something between peace and exhilaration. Chaos in the eye of the storm.

"Your time away was necessary for growth, Edythe. We would never lash blame for needing to come to your own mind on your own," Carlisle reassured her, and Edythe's body seemed to stiffen before her second arm coiled lovingly around me.

"T'was more than I deserved, Carlisle; but, I thank you both."

His hand moved to gently squeeze Edythe's shoulder in reassurance, dropping it as quickly as it came to rest. I was certain there was a conversation passing between Carlisle and her father, as their eyes gazed to each other animatedly for several moments before he looked at me.

"Well, Bella, I wager it's about breakfast time. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen," Carlisle said with a honeyed tone, and his smile was too endearing for me to not feel my face glow to share his cheerful demeanor.

"Thank you for sharing your history, Carlisle," I began, though Edythe was already guiding me toward the door.

"Of course, Bella, I'll come say goodbye before your father gets here," He mentioned with pollyannaish gratitude. "Alas, I have more work to do."

Edythe led me out as Carlisle walked back toward his desk. As soon as the office door was softly closed, she turned to me. Pressing herself close enough that our waists very nearly touched.

"Are you alright?" She asked, as though dreading my answer.

"I am, now," I tried to reassure, my arms folding around her shoulders.

Edythe leaned in, her lips barely hovering over my own, when she stopped. I wasn't entirely sure why she had stopped until I felt her fingers touch my chin to turn my head back toward her.

I was staring at the cross.

Unnerved at how it watched us from above, my eyes had unconsciously turned, and Edythe caught me. Her eyes seemed to seethe with an emotion I couldn't keenly read. Was she angry? Hurt? She wasn't shaking or squeezing her hands into fists, but it did not erase the fear shaking through me.

"It's just wood, Bella," she insisted as she touched her palm over my heart, which beat against my ribcage like a cornered deer. "It can't hurt you up there."

"I-I know," I blubbered, looking down at our feet, but she was too close to me to be able to see my shoes. I could only watch as her stomach pressed up against my own.

Her cold fingers raised my chin again, so I had no shelter from her intense topaz gaze. "Do you?" Her words were teasing, but still they struck me. Pain surged through my chest again, and her hand moved back down to hold over my heart. "Your heart is racing. I need to know why."

My tongue suddenly felt swollen, I couldn't breathe. "Just, you being close to me," I lied, desperately hoping that she might believe me. Frustration covered her face, so much so that I could see subtle licks of anger touch her eyes and mouth.

"Your heart rate isn't like this when we kiss," she exposed, and I suddenly felt uncomfortably naked. Her arms slid around my waist, and her lips feathered kisses along my cheek and jawline. It was so heavenly a sensation that I couldn't help myself from leaping inwardly at her every touch. Shivers of a different nature overshadowed the shame that welled up within me, and I couldn't stop myself from seeking her lips.

We kissed, deeply enough to tangle our lips together, and I forgot myself. I had almost convinced myself that the subject of that cross was over when she pulled away enough to cup my face and press our foreheads together. "Dearest, talk to me..."

"I don't know what to say," I countered. "I don't think I could explain if I tried."

"Come," she said softly, and I followed her toward the beautifully simple cross.

She had me stand under it, and I watched as little snippets of sunlight poured down over it's smooth, dark, body. It was a beautiful cross, the kind you saw aloft in church sanctuaries with robes or curtains framing it. A monument of love and sacrifice, that had often made me feel more terror than reassurance as a little girl. It reminded me of cruelty and murder, more than love. Nails through the hands and feet, even just in my imagination, thoroughly unsettled me.

"Carlisle's father carved that cross himself, you know," she began. "He wasn't a wholly terrible man, simply prejudiced and misguided by the times."

She paused, to see if I would answer; but, when I didn't she continued. Her eyes still held high toward the cross. "The world is a safer place now, for 'peculiar folk' such as we. The Earth has embraced logic and reason as dutifully as it has the faith, and most have clearer eyes, now. More prone to mercy than judgment."

Her fingers touched my cheek as she looked at me; brushing the pad of her thumb over my lips. "God is unfailing love, Bella. If God exists, nothing could change that love for you. He would be like me, just wanting to be near you; know you for the beautiful person you are."

My body trembled, sickness filled me, but tears threatened to tug at my eyes at her words. Nothing she said was unreasonable, or untrue, and yet I felt ensnared by myself. Trapped in invisible chords of rope that tried to suffocate me. "Don't you ever feel wrong, Edythe? Do you ever feel guilty for wanting me?"

She laughed, amusement tugging at the sourness which had spread over her eyes at my question. "Of course I do," she began, caressing my face with both hands now. "I wish I could give you everything you deserve. I wish I could have you without stealing you away irreparably from God and your family. Not be a thief in the night, a blood-drinking demon that you could never have a future with."

"Don't say that..." All her words stabbed within me; but, the last cut me too deeply to bear being silent any longer. "What do you mean we can't have a future?" Everything in me wanted to slap her; but, her hands were holding my wrists now, and it would be useless to struggle against them.

Pain glossed over her face as she kissed me. Combing her lips softly over my own before she leaned back again to look at me. "If you become one of us, Bella, you'll always be stuck the way you are now. There will be no children, no growing old together, no permanent place. We'll have to move over and over to hide who we are from the world. It will always be stuck in the present, the same life, replayed over and over for all eternity."

My lungs stopped heaving as she explained, but it did nothing to erase the pain. "Why is that such a bad thing? If it means we can be together every day, forever?"

Her eyes entreated me, pleaded into my eyes. "It's easy to say that when one is thirsty and has never had a drink of cold water."

"What?" My eyes blinked excessively from confusion.

"If you had experienced all the goodness which life has to offer, you would not be satisfied with the idea of this life," she explained. "My sweet, Bella. You deserve so much more than I can give."

Her hands let go of my wrists, and so I reached up to clutch her perfectly chiseled face between my fingers. "Don't you think it's up to me to decide what's good for me?"

I watched her swallow uncomfortably, even knowing she didn't need to breathe, she held her breath as though she was in physical pain. "Yes," she could not deny the word, even if it slew her. "But I hope you'll make a choice that won't haunt you."

"Ahem," a very familiar voice spoke from around the corner. I looked; but, I didn't see her.

Edythe rolled her eyes with irritation. "You can come out, Alice..."

She appeared instantly, I didn't even see which room she came from as she held up a black and silver suitcase. "Breakfast and make up, Bella. We only have so much time this morning," Alice insisted sweetly, and I was both relieved and disappointed to have that conversation halted. We would be talking again soon, of that I had no doubt.

Edythe reluctantly held my hand, guiding me away from her room and the hallway cross, toward the stairs. Alice seemed to dance as she moved, clearly liberated at the idea of making me look cosmetically beautiful. She was always two steps ahead of us as we walked down the stairs, and approaching the kitchen she vanished into the dining room.

There was a figure in the kitchen already, and Esme's soft hands were taking things out of the refrigerator. A carton of eggs, package of bacon, box of pancake mix – everything I could think of eating for breakfast was laid out on the counter. I couldn't even see it all, and it made me feel overwhelmed again.

"Mother, must you?" Edythe insisted. "She's fine with cereal."

Esme turned at our approach, her soft heart-shaped face beaming with joy and affection as she looked at me. What pain that lingered from our upstairs conversation was instantly forgotten. My heart numbed, then warmed, and all I could feel was euphoria. "I'll be happy with anything, really."

Edythe rolled her eyes at me. "Don't say that, dearest, she'll – make – you everything."

Esme chuckled playfully, one hand held over her rosy lips as she moved to my side and gently wrapped her arms around me. "Good morning, Bella, I hope you slept well."

My arms squeezed tightly around her, at odds with how this woman who looked like Edythe's sister was already feeling like a second mother to me. "I did, thanks. I hope you did t–"

Good God, could I be anymore stupid? Edythe practically snorted beside me.

With a softer chuckle, Esme slipped from me, stepping out of the way with a gesture for me to come forward. One arm raised to showcase all she had bought like a game show host, probably in the hopes of seeing what I might pick out. On the opposite counters, as the kitchen was as big as my room was, there were a variety of saucepans, pots, serving spoons – an army of brand new appliances that I knew they'd only purchased for me. It made me feel strangely special, and my eyes fell to the waffle iron as I touched the box of pancake mix.

"Waffles sound great, but I can make them myself," I insisted; but, Edythe turned her nose up at the sheer idea of me doing any work this morning.

"Nonsense, I can do it," Edythe near demanded to me as Esme melted herself around her daughter to give her a morning embrace as well. As though feeling embarrassed at all the affection, she soon moved from the arms of her 'mother' like any angsty teenager might do.

"Indeed, Bella, go have a seat in the dining room, we'll bring them out to you in a little while."

Pouring myself a glass of milk, I acquiesced and walked toward the great round table. Alice had already unpacked more make up kits, brushes, and lipsticks, than I had ever seen in one place outside of a department store. My stomach rumbled, and drinking down half the glass of milk did nothing to soothe it.

Why was she so happy about this? It was powdery gunk that was probably going to give me acne.

"Good morning, Bella," Alice sang. Patting the chair beside her with far more enthusiasm than I felt the chair needed this morning.

"Hey, Alice," I began, desperate to – not – talk about the elephant in the room for a little while. "Where's Jasper?"

She giggled at me with coy cat-like eyes. "He went to Newton's Sporting Goods with Emmett," she explained. "They're buying us some supplies for tonight. There's a thunderstorm headed our way, and it's the only time that we can play."

"Play?" I asked as I reluctantly sat down in the chair.

Alice used her dainty, heeled, foot to turn my chair to face her. A brush and a case of skin-colored powder in her hands as she looked at her 'canvas'. "Mmmhmm, we enjoy playing baseball from time to time, but when we use our full strength it's very loud. Our bodies sound like thunder when we crash together – sometimes it can be heard for miles." Her nose crinkled beautifully with mischief as she began to stroke the brush of floral-scented powder against my cheek. "Wouldn't do to give us away, now would it?"

The idea furrowed my brows. "So, you guys play baseball," I couldn't wrap my head around it.

"We – love – baseball," she corrected. "It's more Edythe and Rosalie's favorite, though."

"Do you not like to play sports?" I asked, rather hoping to have – something – in common with Alice.

"I prefer long-distance archery, but most of the others find it tedious," she swayed side to side cheerfully as she dabbed the brush against the pad again and wiped my other cheek with skin-colored powder. "Esme tends to whip my tush at poker, though that isn't exactly a sport."

"How does she do that, if you can read the future?"

The brush playfully dotted over the tip of my nose, and I resisted the urge to sneeze. "She doesn't look at the cards, and changes her mind to throw me and Edythe off."

I chuckled then, grinning ear to ear at the idea of Esme constantly taking stabs in the dark and winning. "Sounds like she's pretty clever."

"More like verylucky - _"_ Alice's eyes widened playfully in bemused irritation "-or she knows us _very_ well," she hummed, finishing up the first coat of make up on my face.

Surprisingly, the powder was light and airy, and my skin didn't feel like it was being suffocated. She moved her hands then, grasping hold of something that made me nervous – an eyeliner pencil. Not wanting – anyone – to be near my eyes with pointed objects, especially superpowered vampires who could probably jam that thing through my skull without trying, I leaned back into the chair.

"Um, Alice..."

She giggled at me. "Just hold still, will you? I'm not going to hurt you," she said as she slid her hand through my hair to hold my head against the back of the dining chair. It felt like I was going to be attacked; but, in a couple of seconds it was over and she was smirking at me.

"Now, was that so terrible?" She teased, and I found myself blinking from anxiety at how quickly I must have been covered in warpaint.

"Yes," I lied, not wanting to give her the satisfaction.

She scowled at me. "It's a good thing I have no-smudge eyeliner, or we'd have to do that all over again with the way you blink sometimes."

Having that fault commented out loud made me uneasy, and I flushed.

"Alright, hold still, and close your eyes," she ordered while brushing a tiny eyeshadow pad against several disks of natural browns, whites, and tan powders. I wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but, she was clearly going to paint my eyelids now.

Sighing, I closed my eyes. This was strangely relaxing; but, I didn't enjoy the idea of being a barbie doll either. It wasn't like I could even compete with their gorgeous faces, this make up was just artwork for Alice to waste her time with.

Moving from one eyelid to the next, over and over, with layer after layer of wiping and dabbing, Alice began to hum a tune I'd heard before. I wasn't entirely sure where I'd heard the song until I realized it was the same melody that Edythe had been singing the night before. It was such a beautiful little tune, and I couldn't recall where it came from. I'd never heard it from any nursery rhymes, or on the classical music stations. Not even a movie soundtrack came to mind for me, as though the familiar song was always on the precipice of discovery. As Bells dinging in the distance, without knowing where they coming from.

"What are you humming, Alice?"

"Oh, Edythe's song for you," she mused aloud. "She wrote it after she came back from Alaska," she mentioned, like this was a normal thing. People didn't write songs about 'me', why would they?

"She wrote a song for me?" The brush continued to stroke over the base of my eyelid, perhaps because I needed the extra powder, or maybe she realized I liked the sensation and delayed the process.

"Not on purpose, I don't think. When she dwells on anything too long music slips from of her fingers," she moved the eyeshadow brush away now, and I felt another type of pencil tip brush against my eyebrows a little. Or maybe it was an eyebrow brush, I kept my eyes closed to not think about this process. "She played this tune over and over, and I fear it's stuck in all of our heads now."

"It is a pretty tune," I mentioned softly.

"That it is," she hummed, grinning so much I could hear it in her words. "There, open your eyes, I need to put on the final touches."

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. Only to cringe at seeing a mascara brush in her feminine hand. She was going to get near my eyes again, and I leaned back into the chair again with loathing.

She sighed at the grimace on my face. "We're almost done, stop your cringing," she insisted with a sharpness to her voice.

Despite not wishing to disappoint her, my mouth couldn't fully relax. Soured at this being pampered business, I sighed and just let it happen like a wounded animal. "Just get it over with," I said as playfully as I could, not wishing to hurt her feelings.

She didn't seem to mind, she was already too busy gently brushing the damp comb against my eyelashes. A strong contortion of concentration on her face as her delicate fingers kept to their work.

"Mmn, I think we're almost done..." what else could there possibly be?

The answer to that question was never sated. A startling shout from the kitchen caused me to turn my head with a start.

"Corpus Bones!" Edythe shouted; like it was a curse word. The smell of burned smoke wafted from the kitchen and Esme and Edythe were fighting over the steaming waffle iron.

"Ugh! Bella!" Alice's irritated gasp of exasperation made me turn back around, and I became painfully aware that she hadn't anticipated the accident in the kitchen.

"What?" My eyes were wide as owls.

Sighing loudly for the second time, Alice moved a mirror toward me and held it up against my face. A large smear of lipstick stretched across my cheek to tamper her work. Stunned at the appearance of myself, despite the ugly smear of red across my face, the words in the background melted away from me. I could only keep staring at my reflection in awe; gaping my mouth like the fish Charlie left in the refrigerator.

"Eedee, please let me help," Esme entreated in velvet soft tones. The sound of high-pitched scraping made me gnash my teeth from cringing. "You'll break the iron doing that!"


	19. Chapter Eighteen - Baseball

_This chapter was difficult to write, I ended up erasing half of it and starting over from one point. Only to go back and edit to fix it for another point. Maybe, in the end, I'm too intense in the way I portray; but, hopefully I'm just making up for four books of limited passion. I did my best to meld this chapter as close as I could with the original meeting between Bella and Billy; but, I felt Bella was too much of a jerk to Billy in Stephanie's novel. At least in this particular chapter - being short with him, snappy even, to someone she presumably met before given she used to play with Rachel and Rebecca when she was little and visited during the summer. Him being her dad's best friend, I don't think she should have been that snappy. Personal preference, perhaps, but that seemed more under the influence of 'uber controlling Edward', and not the softened Edythe._

 _My mom also just came home from the hospital, from a triple bypass open heart surgery, so its been a stressful ride, and that's the main reason my writing has slowed down. I'm enjoying where the story is headed, I have some ideas on where to draw it out, and where this book is coming to a close._

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen**

* * *

"You sure look pretty, Bells," Charlie finally mentioned. Breaking the uncomfortable silence as the Police Cruiser turned onto the freeway. It was mid-afternoon, and bleak black rain clouds lit our trail home.

"Thanks." It was weird to be complimented so much. I felt weird everywhere, especially with how nice it was to see my father looking so happy for it. I guess him seeing me do normal 'teenage girl' things was reassuring him that he wasn't failing as a father. Even so, my stomach felt ill, and it had nothing to do with eating partially burnt waffles for breakfast.

"So, Alice and Edythe did" – he gestured to me awkwardly with his hand – "all of that?"

"Just Alice. Edythe doesn't really care for make up, either," I mentioned, biting my own tongue a mite too hard to try and convince myself. Edythe never needed make up, and she seemed to find me beautiful without wearing any, too. However, when Edythe finally stopped trying to cook waffles and she turned to look at me, she was so astonished that her mouth hung open. It was a weirdly satisfying feeling to have rendered Edythe speechless. Which only became mortifying when it rendered my dad speechless as well.

"Did you had a good time, honey?"

"I did," a genuine smile awkwardly blushed over my face.

Gazing at my reflection in the side view mirror, I could hardly take it in myself. It didn't even look like I was wearing make-up – Elves might as well have removed every blemish from my skin. How much more would Edythe have kissed me if most of her family hadn't insisted on playing board games? The idea sent shivers everywhere. Shivers I felt weird feeling while I was trapped in the Police Cruiser with Charlie. My mind was a blur; soaking in everything from the 'sleepover' too fast for me to process it all. Thankfully, Charlie didn't keep bringing up my 'new look' and left me in peace for the rest of the drive home.

It was just beginning to drizzle rain when Charlie turned onto our street. The idea of having an hour or two to myself to get homework out of the way was a thought I was just beginning to harbor when I saw the black car in Charlie's driveway. The familiar weathered Ford, lurking like a dark shadow.

Leaning away from the rain under the shallow front porch, Jacob Black stood behind his father's wheelchair. Billy's face was as impassive as stone until he saw us pull into the driveway.

"Billy! How long have you been waiting here, you ol' rascal?" Charlie near exploded with enthusiasm as the engine died and he slid open the driver's side door. The smile on Billy's face felt brighter than the sun, and for a moment I was relieved that I had a moment to myself in the car.

"Not long," Billy laughed. "I was hoping we could borrow your flat screen," he said with a chuckle before gently trying to nudge Charlie in the elbow. Since that was as far as he could comfortably reach, anyway. It was reassuring to see my dad so happy. Charlie and Billy were jokingly 'boxing' with each other as I started to get out of the car, and that was when Jacob saw me.

"Woah," he mumbled, like he forgot how to say 'hello' entirely.

"What?" I demanded in surprise. Completely forgetting the effect of my painted face on the opposite sex. Why hadn't I just wiped it off with my sleeve before I got out of the cruiser? Great. I should insist that Charlie keeps a box of Kleenex in the glove box. I found myself feeling increasingly irritated. Why didn't Alice warn me that Jacob was coming here? Did she just not see it? Maybe turning me into the 'Athena of Forks' was all a part of a master plan to turn me into a model.

"Uhm. Nothing, just wow," Jacob flustered badly. His russet skin was red, and he kept tugging at the collar of his gray t-shirt uncomfortably. The sound of his voice must have alerted our fathers, as now I felt all eyes turn toward me.

"Oh. Don't you look nice, Bella," Billy complimented.

All at once, Charlie got a look in his eye. Irises sparkling with mischief as he looked toward his best friend. Billy seemed to understand that look completely, and my stomach suddenly felt ill all over again.

"Jake, why don't you help Bella carry in her bags?" Charlie offered with such an insistence to the suggestion that I could feel the cringe on my face travel all over my body. Was he trying to get us alone together? Oh no, of course he was.

"I'd be glad to, Charlie!"

"No, no, it's just a bunch of clothes – really," I protested; but, Jacob had already flung himself into the backseat of the police cruiser.

Billy and Charlie were practically giggling; trying their best not to guffaw behind their hands. Their plan to get us closer together was all too obvious to me, and with a sigh I headed toward the house. Practically hopping over the porch steps in my rush to get the door open as fast as I could. First thing I was going to do was run to the bathroom and wipe all this gunk off my face.

"H-hey, wait for me, Bella," Jacob called from behind me. Having just unlocked the door with the hide-a-way key, I sighed and held it open for Jacob and the 'bags' to go inside the house.

One fleeting look revealed that Charlie and Billy were still chuckling at their good idea. Only, now Charlie had no hands to hide that his mustache was shaking bemusedly. They were busy pushing Billy's wheelchair. I turned to go inside before I got stuck in a room with three conniving boys instead of one.

"S-so are you getting ready for a date, or?" Jacob asked; legitimately concerned. Pangs of pity stabbed inside my chest at the worry on his face.

"No – my friend Alice wanted to practice doing makeovers," I explained, peeking over my shoulder to see that Charlie was pushing Billy as slowly as humanly possible. Clearly it would make their wildest dreams come true if Jacob and I started dating.

"Well, it looks really good. Not that you, you know, aren't already beautiful," Jacob blubbered, and I had to admit to myself that it was nice to be complimented. Jacob wasn't an unattractive boy; but, he wasn't Edythe. I didn't really feel right to enjoy being looked at this way by anyone else, and the guilt of enjoying the attention made my stomach gurgle soundlessly from discomfort. It felt like I was cheating for something that wasn't within my control.

"Thanks, Jacob," I awkwardly mumbled as I pointed to the kitchen table. Jacob followed me, catching my drift to set down Alice's bags on top of it. It felt so awkward, the silence, but I couldn't think of anything else to say for what felt like several minutes.

"So, did you find any parts for your Rabbit?"

Talking about any kind of car or vehicle seemed to instantly boost Jacob's confidence. "I have a few leads," he said with a cocky grin.

I feigned more interest than I felt by smiling. "That's great, Jake, you'll have to show me when it's all fixed up." My hands slid into my pant pockets and stayed there. Jacob couldn't stop staring at my face, even when I looked down at my feet I could feel him staring at me.

"Assuming my friends even found the parts; sure. I'd be glad to show you," Jacob started to say, before he stepped a little closer to lean against the kitchen table with me. "You should see my garage sometime, I work on a lot of cars and motorbikes. We could order a pizza or something and—"

"You both better be behaving," Charlie teased as he wheeled Billy through the hall toward us. His voice was so gleefully mischievous that my stomach gurgled again. How did neither of them hear the whale in my stomach? Both grown men were chuckling like schoolboys, and I moved before the kitchen table cracked under the weight of two teenagers leaning against it.

Jacob playfully snorted, trying so hard to act cool in front of me that I felt guilty again. "Pfft, I'm always behaving, Charfish."

Billy roared with laughter, clearly loving the nickname. It would be forever dubbed in my head: My father, police chief Charfish. If not for my discomfort, I would have laughed with something besides forced amusement. Desperate to go wash my face, my eyes mournfully turned toward the stairs.

"Well, while you guys get settled for the Mariner's game, I'm gonna go upstairs to the bathroom."

Jacob looked as though he was going to offer to come with me until I said the word 'bathroom' and his face lit up with embarrassment. "Okay, cool, I'll save you a seat."

Thumping upstairs, I was almost at the bathroom door when I felt a sudden, cold, sensation on my shoulder. Something gripping me just enough that I couldn't move. Fear began to drown me, before the familiar scent of my beloved softened the thrumming of my racing heartbeat. Not that it mattered much, as her other hand was gently covering my mouth to conceal any gasps I might have made from surprise.

"Shh, it's just me, dearest," Edythe whispered. Her voice sending shivers through me that made my stomach Topsy-turvy with butterflies. Whatever nausea I had felt before instantly vanished as I turned quietly to face her. Her soft, beautiful, hands guided me into my room before anyone had the chance to peek upstairs. Unfortunately, not fast enough for me to remain oblivious to what she had changed into.

"What are you wearing?" the whisper broke from me thoughtlessly. My happiness to see her put on hold as my eyes took in her outfit. She was wearing a Mariner's white pinstripe baseball uniform and a matching blue and white baseball cap. A white t-shirt underneath to complete the sports ensemble. The only thing she needed was a giant, orange, foam finger to look completely ridiculous.

She grinned sheepishly. "What? I told you I was a Mariner's fan."

It was no use, I couldn't turn my eyes away from her outfit to comment. She even had baseball shoes on! This outfit must have cost a small fortune. Professional team apparel always did.

"I kind of hoped you were lying to impress Charlie," the confession finally slipped from me.

A laugh escaped her lips, and she grinned as she leaned in to cup my face. Her lips met my own, and for a few blissful moments I drowned in the taste of her lips. She parted from me as her hair tickled the sides of my face, brushing her thumb over my mouth. "Do I look that bad?"

It was my turn to grin sheepishly. "Like you could look bad in anything. I'm just surprised," my eyebrows raised as blood flushed under my cheeks. "I've never met someone who liked Baseball this much. I don't even think Charlie has a team shirt."

Edythe grinned and turned around, grabbing something navy blue that had been tossed on my bed. She unveiled the bundle to reveal it was a large men's T shirt with a white Mariner's logo. "He does now."

A snort escaped me, and I covered my mouth to try and mask the sound of it. "Don't you think you're trying a little too hard?"

Edythe moved the shirt down to her stomach to look at the logo, frowning playfully. "For you? Never. When he finds out about us, I want it to be as good a news as possible."

The idea of Charlie finding out made the nausea return with a vengeance, and I felt so dizzy that I had to sit down on the bed. Watching the baseball player standing in front of me, I exhaled a deep breath to try and push past it.

"Me too," I reassured. Genuinely hoping that somehow buttering up my dad would lessen the blow; but, knowing he probably wouldn't be as happy unless I started dating someone like Jacob.

"Darling, it's going to be alright." She comforted me by running her soft hands running through my hair. The cold compress helped, and I closed my eyes as her fingertips trailed over my scalp.

"Yeah, I'm just nervous about Charlie's reaction," I confessed with surprising ease, a little unsettled at how easily I opened up to Edythe. Even without opening my eyes, I could feel the hurt contort her beautiful face.

"You needn't worry. We're not telling him tonight," she whispered and I felt her lips clasp over my own again. We kissed, and for a moment I forgot everything else. Only her presence mattered. She broke the kiss before my arms and legs had a chance to wrap around her.

"I best head outside and knock on the door like a human,"

"Wait," worry squeezed me, sharpening my voice with anxiety. "Billy and Jacob are here, from the Reservation."

Edythe's face became weirdly cold. Her mouth tightened into a straight line, and I couldn't tell if she was upset at their presence, or irritated that I even brought it up.

"I know," she explained. Before I could protest she had rolled up the navy T-shirt and hopped out of the window. Not one sound from the damp grass below was heard to reassure me that she hadn't just flown out the window.

Unable to breathe, somewhat nervous of what Edythe might do in front of Billy, I rushed into the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. Wiping off the layers of expensive, feather-soft, make up with a wash towel until I was satisfied that I looked as red and ugly as possible. Jacob clearly liked me, and the idea of what Edythe might do in a jealous rage unnerved me too much to think about. Tortured by how easily Jacob could be killed by sheer accident alone, I began to hyperventilate. Washing and drying my face three times before I felt like I could breathe again. Don't be silly, Bella, Edythe would never hurt Billy or Jacob. She knows I love her, she knows I wouldn't chose anyone else. Jacob and Billy were going to be fine.

Charlie's voice rang out pleasantly when I started down the stairs, echoing from the living room with jubilant tones. "This is great Edythe, thank you." He must have been given the pricey logo shirt already.

"My mom ordered my Dad two by accident, I figured it needs a good home," Edythe praised, and I heard footsteps on the linoleum floor as I stepped down from the final stair. Edythe grinned at me, pouring a bag of pretzels into one of our plastic mixing bowls from the cupboard. A case of honey-roasted peanuts being poured in a smaller bowl beside it made my mouth curl to one side. Did we even keep peanuts in the house?

"Hey, Eedee," I greeted, poorly pretending we hadn't had a stolen interlude upstairs. "I thought you were going to play baseball with your family tonight."

Edythe was caught off guard by the question, but her hand never wavered from pouring the peanuts into the bowl. "I thought I'd come here and watch the game with you guys instead. Unless you don't want me here," her eyes were genuinely vexed, and I smiled bashfully to try and reassure her.

"No, I'm glad you're here. Just, I know how much you love to play."

Edythe's grin stretched wickedly from ear to ear. "We can still go after the Mariner's win."

"Ugh, Alice." Of course she knew the scores. No wonder her family was so wealthy.

Edythe handed me the bowl with pretzels and led me out into the living room. Jacob looked like he was lulled into a stunned silence, and had been stuck that way for several minutes. His eyes flicking back and forth between Edythe and I, over and over. I couldn't be sure if he was shocked from Edythe's full-blown baseball outfit, her gorgeous face, or the sudden loss of my model-worthy makeover. He gulped, and I could almost physically feel the discomfort he must be feeling rush through me.

One glance at Billy, however, caused what amusement flowed through me to dissipate. He did -not- look in any way pleased to see Edythe here. In fact, the expression on his face was the closest thing to fear or warning that I had ever seen in his black eyes. He kept watching her, as though Edythe was a shark circling around a school of fish that could lash out at any moment. We both knew that he wasn't allowed to say a thing about it, or Charlie and Billy's friendship would be strained again. Billy's russet face grew increasingly pale. Only to relax ever-so-slightly when Edythe didn't sit down by Jacob. Setting the bowl of peanuts down on the old coffee table beside the bowl of pretzels, Charlie was oblivious and pleased; instantly reaching out his hand to partake of the goods.

"Thanks, girls," Charlie hummed as his brown eyes continued to watch the flat-screen. Normally Jacob would have joined Charlie in pigging out; but, he was still stunned. His eyes flicking between Edythe and I nervously. Clearly he would be unable to ask me out with another girl here, and I felt grateful that Jake had enough brains to not risk asking a second time tonight.

"Of course, Charlie," Edythe replied with an air of victory, and inwardly I felt a sliver of joy for her high spirits. She was certainly winning over my dad as my 'best friend'. Maybe she was right, and it wouldn't be so horrible when he did find out about us.

The smile Charlie gave her with his mustache covered with crumbs, eased me the most. Simultaneously washing Billy's face with dread from the corner of my eye.

"Jake," Billy almost snapped, and my heart felt a stab of terror at the firm tone of his voice. Thankfully, I was not the only one who was afraid. Jake was a statue – frozen with his fist still caught in the peanut bowl. Maybe he realized how he sounded, because Billy suddenly laughed and shook his head.

"Jake, will you pass me some of those peanuts before you eat them all?"

What concern Charlie and Edythe seemed to share washed away with smiles and laughter.

"Jacob, save some peanuts for the girls," Charlie joked. "Half the bowl is gone already."

A snort of derision was made by the guilty party as Jacob stood to hand his father the bowl of peanuts. "I'm not the only one eatin' em, Charfish."

After the chaos of laughter paused, it didn't take very long for Charlie to become completely absorbed in the game. However, as soon as he began to speak 'Sports Lingo' my brain melted into mush and I devoted my attention to Edythe. Despite how focused she was on conversing with Charlie and Jacob in the 'Mariner's Dialect', her mouth was so captivating that I found myself unable to stop watching her lips form syllables.

Jacob kept watching me, smiling with an awkward goofiness to the red on his russet face whenever our eyes happened to meet. A part of me didn't understand why Jacob could still look so flustered when he looked at me – Edythe was infinitely more beautiful than I was, and she was sitting right next to me. Maybe it was because she was dressed in a mens baseball uniform? She seemed to know much more about sports than Jacob did, and maybe that made him uncomfortable. Girls were kind of expected to know next to nothing about sports. At least, that was a stereotype, and those were usually based on a sliver of truth.

It made no difference though, how beautiful Edythe was. Jacob kept watching me whenever he turned his head from the game. Asking if I needed more snacks, if I wanted something to drink, or if I was comfortable. Deep down, his attention flattered me; but, on the surface it was suffocating. If not for Edythe sitting right next to me, the next few hours of watching the Mariner's game would have been unbearable. Relief consumed me when the game finally came to a close. The Mariner's winning by three home-runs, Charlie turned the television off and grinned his crinkly-eyed smile.

"Seems your outfit helped our boys, Edythe, you should come to all the games."

Edythe smiled triumphantly. "I told you it brings good luck, I should take it out of the closet more often."

My head shook back and forth of its own free will. "No, please" – I begged, trying to play off my horror as merrily as possible – "it was hard enough not laughing at you for one night."

"It's a professional uniform," Edythe chided as she looked down at herself, clearly not understanding why she looked so ridiculous. Maybe it wasn't as stupid as I thought it was; but, she began to look more worried than playful.

"It is kind of 'intense'," Jacob agreed, and while it was nice that I wasn't the only one who thought a full baseball uniform was silly...I had a sinking feeling that he only said so because he liked me.

Charlie laughed, already standing up. "If it brings the Mariners luck, she's welcome to wear it anytime she wants," he began, gently shoving my shoulder to chide or tease me. Both, more likely. "Heh, if I'd have known they made girl's sizes, I would have bought Bella one years ago."

Dread paled my face. "No, Dad, I really – really – don't need one."

Edythe was giggling, chuckling darkly with her hand lightly covering her mouth. "That's a pity, seeing as I already bought you one."

"What?" My face paled, then reddened, as I tried to contain the anger that filled me. Why did her whole family have to keep buying me things?! It was bad enough that Alice hounded me to constantly try on clothes – was Edythe going to do it, too? What was next? A tattoo to brand me with?

The playfulness in Edythe's eyes melted away at my reaction; but, thankfully a sound broke my concentration before my anger had a chance to boil over the rim. Jacob had coughed from trying so hard not to laugh.

"Bella. In -that-..." He hooted with laughter. "What, are you gonna tie her down to get her into it?"

Despite looking a bit uncomfortable, Charlie guffawed as he rubbed his side. An unconscious routine he tended to do when he got up from sitting too long. "Alright, Jake, let's not tease Bella anymore," he insisted, and I finally exhaled a hot huff of air from my nose.

"I was only kidding, Mr. Swan," Edythe countered; but, her expression was mournful, and her gaze never strayed from mine.

"Hey, we talked about that," He insisted as he walked around the couch.

"Sorry, Charlie," Edythe amended. She smiled warmly toward him; but, I could see there was worry in her eyes. She didn't hold eye-contact with me for very long to hide it. The tiny moment felt like forever, just a few steps from my father had been all the time it took for her happiness to fade.

"I'm going to use the bathroom, Bill, then I'll help you out to your car," Charlie mentioned, already vanishing into the kitchen toward the stairs.

"Sure thing, Charles," Billy mentioned, and I realized that Billy had not laughed once since the game had ended. It felt like being in line for a guillotine – I knew something was coming, that it wasn't going to be good, and I had no idea how badly it would hurt before it was over.

"Jacob, can you fetch that picture of Rebecca from the car?"

Jake looked up from cleaning stray bits of pretzels from the coffee table. No doubt he was trying to win points by being extra helpful for me. "What photo?"

Billy cleared his throat. "The new one she sent us last week," he mentioned vaguely.

Jacob looked as confused as I was, and he stood there with his head cocked to one side like a dog. "She sent us a photo?"

"The one in the glove-box," Billy insisted. "Go fetch it before Charlie gets back, I don't want to sit out in the rain while you look."

Knowing better than to argue with his father, Jacob sighed and set the plastic bowls full of trash and crumbs back down on the coffee table before he headed for the door. On the way there, he mildly paused to send me a look of apology and embarrassment. I returned the sentiment, feeling sorry that Jake was being treated like a little kid in front of me.

Once Jacob and Charlie were gone, Edythe moved her arm around my waist, and Billy set his stony gaze at our hands. My own came to rest over her fingers on my side.

"Ms. Cullen," Billy said in a voice laden with authority.

"Chief Black," Edythe mentioned, in respectful, but equally dominant tones of voice. Fear began to thud in my heart. Fear that Billy and the other Quileutes would somehow demand that Edythe stay away from me.

"Edythe, what are you doing here, tonight?"

Her grip tightened ever-so-slightly on my waist; but, it was enough to sting. A small hiss broke from me, barely even a breath in sound passed from my lips before her fingers loosened again.

"Billy, Edythe is my friend," I sputtered quickly to reassure him – to no avail. He did not look any more relieved than before, and I could feel it in my heart that the word 'friend' had wounded my beloved. Her fingers slipped away from my waist. "M-more than a friend – she saved my life," I explained breathlessly; fear and desperation overwhelmed me as I turned. Grasping her fingers with my own and squeezing them as tightly as I could. "We've been close ever since. There's nothing she wouldn't do to protect me."

Billy remained unchanged, his old black eyes were filled with an awareness I could only pretend to understand. "So you know, then," he said to me, his eyes never leaving my face.

Unwilling to risk being overheard by Jacob or my father, I nodded. The nod was all it took for his beady, black, eyes to well up with sadness. He drank in whatever thought on his mind before he spoke. "Please think about what you're choosing, Bella. For Charlie's sake."

His words crushed my soul – like a thousand strings being pulled so tightly that they might burst in my chest. I wanted to spill everything to him, to reassure him that I would do everything in my power to make sure Charlie was safe and alright, that he would get over my absence someday. No words could come, the pain in my heartstrings consumed me, and water began to fill my eyes.

"Bella will remain as she is, William," Edythe explained, and my heart shattered. My eyes stung, I couldn't see through the hazy fluid over my eyes. Ashamed of how easily I wept these days, I looked down toward my feet and let my fingers fade from Edythe's hand. She didn't want me forever, that was the only thing that made sense from her answer. In a few years I would be old and gray, and she wouldn't want me then, either. I had such precious time to make her sure about me, and she seemed to have already made the choice for me.

"Unless she decides otherwise, in her own good time," Edythe amended, her hand wrapping back around my fingers. Her cold, soft, fingers had never felt so warm, though the affection didn't fully erase the pain in my chest. My fingers shook as I wrapped them around her own. Waiting for Billy to say something, anything, there was only terrible, agonizing, silence.

The silence ended when front door opened, and a sigh of exasperation huffed behind me as Jacob rejoined us. "I looked everywhere, Dad; I can't find it."

"Oh, I must have left it at home, then," Billy feigned. "We'll have to bring it next time."

"Ugh, now – I'm – all wet from the rain," Jacob said, and I took that moment to wipe my eyes while my back was still facing him.

"I hope your daughters are faring well, Bill," Edythe said, her tones soft and kind again.

"They are, thank you, Edythe," Billy replied, his tones also soft, and respectful.

Heavy footsteps announced Charlie's return before his voice did. "Looks like that thunderstorm's comin' a bit faster than expected, Bill," he moved around to the back of Billy's wheelchair, helping his friend get settled into the chair.

Everyone seemed to look out the window, a knowing gaze given to the clouds which had begun to produce lightning in the distance. Edythe and I already knew it would be a thunderstorm tonight; but, I didn't have the energy to fake any concern. Somehow, I knew Jacob wasn't upset about the storm. His puppy dog eyes were gazing directly at me, oblivious to the intimacy of Edythe and I holding hands right under his nose.

"Aww, I was hoping we could stay a bit longer," Jake confessed. "See you for the next game?" The hope in his eyes was overwhelming.

"Sure, Jacob, We'll see you next time," I reassured with all the happiness I could muster. Maybe he saw that my eyes had reddened, or that there was water soaking up my lashes. Maybe it was because I used the words 'we' instead of 'I'll'; but, his expression sank.

"Jacob, come along and open the car door for me," Billy called out from the door, the wheelchair having already squeaked its way past the threshold toward their black car. "Have a good evening, Bella, Edythe."

"Goodnight Billy," I called after him. "See you, Jacob."

The door closed half-heartedly behind them, and it was all the time it took for Edythe to press her arms around me and softly tug me close. Nestling me against her chest with my cheek held captive against her own. Her lips met my jawline, and a secret press was given as her fingers ran through my hair. The smell of polyester from her uniform made my nose itch, but her scent amended the tickling. It felt good to be in her arms, covered in the cold compress of her embrace.

"Billy understands," she whispered. "He won't interfere if it's your choice." Ordinarily, these words would have filled me with joy; but, they were whispered in such broken tones that my breath was sucked out of my lungs. Why wasn't she happy that Billy understood?

"But you wish I wouldn't choose it," I whispered lifelessly against her neck.

"Yes," the word broke from her lips, searing into my heart like a branding iron. "I wish you wouldn't want this."

Unable to bear being in her arms, I set my hands against her shoulders to softly push myself away from her. I wanted to say so much, to beg, to demand; but, the bleeding in my chest clogged my throat. If she heard my weepy voice, it would manipulate her into doing something she didn't want to do. The idea of sinking any lower was more than I could bear.

Her fingers clutched my hands before they left her shoulders, keeping them there in her firm grip. "Bella, wait."

"Let me go, Edythe."

"Is that what you want?" She seemed almost hoping that I would say 'yes', so she could leave me with a clear conscience. A part of me even wanted to say it, just so I would never have to worry about being a toy that she would abandon one day.

Unfortunately, I was drowning – leaving her would be too much. I couldn't say it, that one little word and I couldn't bubble it out of me. Tugging my hands free, I turned away from her and walked. I didn't need to look behind me to know that she was following me.

"Bella?" Her voice mirrored the excruciation I felt. It hurt to hear – hurt that her pain felt good to me. It meant she truly cared about hurting me, and that reassurance felt good, even though the guilt of that realization ashamed me.

I kept walking, because Charlie would be coming back inside the house at any minute and I didn't want him to see me like this. Sure enough, the door opened as I was half-way up the stairs. If I could be relieved at anything right now, it was that my back was facing my father.

Edythe and Charlie were talking behind me; but, it was all a blur. Their words muddled together in a hum of friendly pleasantries as I pushed myself into my room and closed the door behind me.

My room felt like a hollow place, a ghost of my real room. The green glow of the thunderclouds outside cascaded my room in a strangeness that brought no comfort. The heavy cloud bank over forks used to make it safe for Edythe to stay here as long as she wanted. For a little while, the gloom had begun to make me happy. All for nothing if she planned on leaving me alone to suffer the same fate as my father.

The tears didn't come first; the sobs did. Low, bucking, sobs that made my chest heave as the floodgates broke. It had been so much to take in – the kindness of her family, the hatred of Rosalie, hiding our relationship from everyone I knew. It all weighed down on me, as though everything I felt wasn't meant to be real. That Edythe and I didn't have a real relationship, didn't have a real love for each other, or we could never have one and we were just wasting time with our private moments. What was the point of telling my dad about us someday if she wasn't going to keep me forever?

It was all I could do to stumble blindly for my bed and grab one of my pillows. Not to pretend I was kissing Edythe – I slammed it over my face so that the bellows from the deep would be muffled. Nothing sounded worse to me than Charlie coming in and asking what was wrong. My lungs hyperventilated, loud breaths heaving against the cotton pillowcase; A voodoo ritual of mindless bubbling baying. Any thought of going to a stupid baseball game in a thunderstorm was far off in the void, right now.

A gentle knock on my bedroom door made my heart leap in my chest, and I gagged. Unable to produce a single word to tell whoever it was to leave me alone. The rap repeated itself and the door must have opened quietly, because the next thing I felt was Edythe's cold fingers on my shoulder.

"Bella, _please_ speak to me."

Wet cotton stuck to my face; I could scarcely breathe. My chest burned so badly that my whole body seemed to shake from weeping. If I could hate myself more, I would have. Shame filled me because I couldn't stop the tears and wails from flowing. My whole face was drenched, Edythe's soft fingers caressing down my spine over and over didn't stop the waterworks.

"You know I'm not" – she struggled for the words – "good for you," she elaborated with a defeated voice. "That's all I meant. I want you to have what's best. Not a cage; a half life."

The goop of my sobbing drained from my nose, and I sucked in, disgusted at the nasty sound against my pillow. Could this get any worse?

"Wh-" I could barely get it out. "Whrg," My face was gross and sticky, but I needed to get it out. "Wha abouh wha I whan?" It blubbered nastily out of me, though I finally cleared my throat and wiped my nose on my pillow enough to speak clearly.

"What about what I need, E?" Turning to face her, her eyes were riddled with despondency. I couldn't blame her for being tortured to see me like this. It wounded me just as badly to see her in pain; but, I couldn't stop my eyes from dampening – even though I had, temporarily, stopped my nose from running. "What about what I want?"

"Ask me anything and I shall give it to you," Edythe promised me, even as I knew that my request would hurt her. Her hands still held me to her, coaxing over my back and shoulders to hold me near to her. Staring deeply into her eyes, which seemed less golden in their ache, I moved one hand to cup her cold cheek. She had no heartbeat, and yet I felt tremors from her flesh against my palm.

"I want to become what you are."

"No." She begged, even commanded. Edythe's beautiful face contorted with such severe anguish that for a moment I thought I saw her face crackle. A line like broken marble spreading across her cheek as swiftly as the lightning flashing in the distance. " _Please,_ ask me for _anything_ else."

The sky thundered outside the window, the inevitable storm far off in the distance.

"Edythe, it's what I want," I begged, and she moved her hands from me.

Edythe's fingers tightened, squeezing them so hard that I heard the sound like stone snapping apart. A primal hiss must have passed from her mouth in a roar; but, I couldn't hear it. She must be able to shout louder than human ears could hear, or maybe she made no sound at all. The pointer and middle finger of her right hand fell and rolled across the floor. Broken, marble, ash dusting a trail from the edge of my bed to the rocking chair.

Shock wasn't a strong enough word to describe the horror I felt at seeing her fingers frozen on the floor.

No blood, no liquid, only stone with slender lines similar to dried up veins running along the inside of the 'wounds'. Did vampires always fall apart when they were broken-hearted? Had I broken her to pieces? Was she dying!? I couldn't breathe – the pillow dropped to God knows where as I stared up from the fallen fingers to my beloved. Terrified that she was going to crackle and fall apart. She looked ashamed as she gripped her wounded hand, agony on her face as though her wound was throbbing, or her heart was still breaking. I had no idea what she was going through – only that she kept shaking her head over and over in anguish.

"Edythe? Edythe!? Are you alright?! Are you okay?!" I stumbled trying to run toward her; I couldn't care less how creepy her head movements were right now.

"Stay away from me!" She demanded in a hoarse, shrill, whisper.

I couldn't have listened if I wanted to. Even as her eyes became large, black, orbs; I didn't care for my life any longer. My body heaved toward her, near stumbling as I lurched myself forward.

"Fine!" The word – quiet; but, passionately begged – shuddered out from me in a panicked husk. "Fine! I won't ask you again!"

Her face stopped blurring in jerky, eerie, movements at my presence, and she froze tightly as I embraced her. She stood still, clutching her hand as her body produced soft tremors. Surely she wasn't going to fall apart. She couldn't die like this! She had to be indestructible!

"P- _Please_ don't die – please don't leave me!" my throat hurt as I groaned out the words, unable to keep myself from the anger and anguish forcing the childish words out of me.

"I won't live without you!"

"Shh, shh," She whispered beside my lips as she pressed her pinky and ring finger against my mouth. The gentle sensation was all it took to still my lips from bubbling words chaotically. The powerful scent of the natural perfume emanating from her severed fingers wafted through my clogged nostrils. Instantly I was overcome with a strange tranquility. In the back of my mind I wondered if she had drugged me on purpose.

"Shhh?" I mumbled weakly. Everything was swimming as her eyes regained their golden hues. I floated backwards without moving. Hovering in her arms as she carefully laid me down on something soft. Her eyes never breaking from the mesmerism of our shared eye contact as she backed away from me, bent to grab something from the floor, and pressed her fingers against her hand. The odd sound of stone rubbing against stone barely registered to me in my state of medicated bliss. My soul was obfuscated from the world around me, departing further still as Edythe crawled over me and trapped me between her arms.

"I'm not dying," she whispered bemusedly, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why she spoke so quietly. He fingers brushed over my cheek, and the sensation was like melting chocolate floating over my tongue. When she touched me, I slipped into a warm bath, and our troubles faded away from me.

"Hmmm," I blissfully hummed, just watching her beautiful eyes stare into me. What had we been arguing about? I couldn't remember anymore. She continued to lovingly gaze upon me until the strong potency of her scent began to wear off. I didn't realize for quite some time that she had reattached her fingers. Only that I began to resurface the other side of a listless state. Awakening from a hazy dream, my fingers rose to cup her face, and she smiled her honeyed eyes at me.

"College," Edythe brought up with resigned tones.

"College?" My eyelashes blinked incessantly.

"If you still want to become what we are by the time you enter college..."

The elated gasp that burst from my lips could have shattered glass if it was a higher octave. "No way. Really!?"

Clearly the husky squeak that rippled through me was hilarious, because Edythe heartily laughed; ethereal harp strings strumming beautifully as she shook her head to and fro in amusement. She laughed for barely a minute before I bopped her shoulder with my hand; too impatient to wait any longer.

"So you'll do it!?" The words squealed from me like a baying seal.

The grief began to return to her tempered gaze. "One of us shall do it," she promised. "If, of course, you still wish to go through with the change by then."

"I'm not going to change my mind," I whispered weakly, the strength I'd been holding on to waning away now that the crisis had passed. She wanted me forever, she wouldn't change her mind about us. I had a future, we had a future.

"Then you promise not to be mad at me?" Edythe seemed to ask, and yet she spoke as though she had already done something terrible. Teasing in her tones; eyes glistening with an apologetic mischief that caused an electric shiver to shudder down my spine. Tingling pleasurably down to my toes from the desirous way she watched me.

I couldn't resist her beckoning mouth when she leaned forward. My fingers cupped her face as I danced my tongue with hers. Drinking in her taste as though she was the only oxygen I had; a drowning woman finally reaching the surface of the ocean. Gasping haggardly through my nose from holding in my breath, she finally broke her perfectly swollen lips from me. Gazing at me lovingly, anxiously, and for the life of me I couldn't understand her somber eyes.

Until I realized there was someone standing in the doorway. A stunned, immobile, statue with color draining more and more from his face the seconds slipped by.

"D-dad!" I wheezed with trepidation.

Charlie has seen us kissing, and it was too much for him to take. The floorboards began to squeak as he started to fall backwards into the hallway…


	20. Chapter Nineteen -The Point of No Return

_After some review, I feel like what I did was far too harsh, far too soon, and it was uncharacteristic of Edythe to have been so. Sometimes in the effort of making a good 'twist' we can sin against the character, and I began to loathe what I'd written. I hope that you guys didn't read the old one, or can forget about it and enjoy this new one without thinking too hard on what I'd written. I don't want that kind of twist to happen again, at least not where Edythe is concerned. If something big happens again, it will be another situation, and it won't be as toxic and abusive as the shameful thing I wrote._

 _x_

 _I would love to hear your comments below, and any PMs if you feel comfortable discussing things further. The future is changed, to some degree, but I think the new direction is toward a loftier goal. I do want to keep the hint I gave you guys for 'New Moon', in that if you have the time and can rent the movie - watch 'The Whale Rider'. It's not a hint about Bella, that's all I'm going to say. I'll try and get another chapter out by next week._

 _x_

 _PS: Let's hope Bella and Renee has as good a conversation, as I feel it's long overdue for some mother-daughter bonding ;)._

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen  
**

* * *

Just when I thought Charlie was going to faint, he took a petrified step backwards and vanished from the doorway. Heavy footsteps thumping down the stairs racing to the beat of my heart.

Everything felt strangely numb, to the point where prickling tickles tingled all over me. Disconnected from what had happened, my brain perhaps shielding me from the inevitable loss, my eyes glazed over. I felt like a ghost on my bed, watching the chaos ensue from the safety of an identical dimension. Edythe must have moved off of me when Charlie caught us, as now she knelt beside my bed, holding her hand out to me. She pleaded in a tangled weave of words, a blur my mind couldn't process whether she was speaking normally or not.

We had one moment, perhaps even one single second, where our eyes met. One moment that seemed to stretch on with the horizon. Compunction crippled Edythe's beautiful face, apology dampening her eyes, as she spoke to me with wet, cherishing, tones of voice.

" _I could not hear his thoughts,"_ she began. _"Dearest, please, snap out of this, speak to me."_

Edythe continued to hold her hand out to me, beckoning me, entreating me, to no avail. Her words sifted through my mind as fog covers the sky.

" _Bella, my love, please – please I did not mean to do this,"_ her voice broke as she hastily clasped my hand in hers. The familiar, electric, vibration of her touch finally withdrew my departed soul back into my body. I gasped in one ragged rasp, as though I had been trapped underwater and finally reached the surface. No longer caged deep within myself. My hand clutched her own so hard that my joints ached under my skin.

"Dad!" The word tore from my lips. Relief washing over Edythe's face as I jumped up with a start. Haphazardly stumbling toward the stairs beside her.

Not that it mattered how fast we went – I was too late.

Just as we hobbled past the last step, I heard the sound of the Police Cruiser groaning with life. Charlie was leaving the house; his car keys were gone from their usual spot, and the car was running.

Thunder clashed outside, lighting flashed outside the windows, and a different kind of fear than Charlie's reaction consumed me. A fear that Charlie would get himself killed; Driving recklessly with a broken heart.

"Dad!" I shouted again as we ran for the door.

My poor reflexes gave out first. My foot rolled over, disrupting my balance and causing my knee bashed against the corner of a kitchen counter. However, before I could topple over and break my nose on the linoleum, Edythe had me in her arms. She flew me toward the front yard, the door flew open, and we froze.

The Police Cruiser was already driving away. Every ounce of instinct within me demanded that I run after him – the rain and lightning were of no concern to me. The only thing that bothered me was how strongly Edythe held me in her arms – the more she held me, the more claustrophobic I felt.

"Let me down!" I demanded, struggling in her arms.

" _Breathe_ , Bella, breathe," Edythe begged, her shoulder-length hair sticking to my cheek from the wind tossing rain into our faces.

" _P-Please!"_ I begged, but the lack of oxygen after everything we had already gone through today left me winded; too weak to stand, much less hold myself up, I crumbled in her arms. "We…Charlie..."

Cold comfort quivered through my cheek as her thumb caressed over my skin.

"Breathe, dearest, we'll go after him, I promise." Her mouth curled with the honeyed earnesty which glossed over her damp, gold, eyes. Two perfect rivers of thick, translucent, polish draining down her cheeks as I fought the need to hyperventilate. The polyester of her ridiculous baseball coat squeezed between my fingers. I held onto my captive fabric for several minutes, just breathing until Edythe's worried eyes could beam brightly again.

"He'll be alright, Bella. He just needs some time to process," she coaxed me. Running her hand through my hair; careening her nails over my scalp. The sensation coupled with her soothing voice willed me to draw in deeper breaths. The air was sweet, fragrant, from the rain – the rain almost overpowering her mesmerizing scent. I loved her, and yet, now that the shock had worn from me, the inevitable fury that had been held at bay flooded from my lips.

"Why didn't you stop?!" I demanded, though I made no effort to shove from her arms.

Grief overcame her face, and further translucent, silvery, water fell from her eyes as she diverted her gaze to the tree. "I was making every effort not to _crush you_. Y-your heartbeat was" – she struggled for the word – " _tantalizing._ "

Her answer did not assuage me. "Y-you really didn't hear him come up the stairs?"

Her chin sank lower, her eyes falling toward the ground, and her shoulder-length hair draped damply over her face. "I presumed he would knock, as he often does. I…I thought we had more time."

My hands curled into fists, even with the weariness of the day, violence surged through my blood. "And you couldn't read his thoughts!?" I nearly bit my tongue from disbelief that drenched my voice.

Edythe shook her head very slowly. "Your father's mind is _ergodic_ , sometimes I hear him plain as day, others – his mind is a viscous cloud. I could hear his apprehension, feel the myriad of concern, and thus, I presumed, that he would not burst forth," Her hands clutched me gently against her chest; shaking her head with grief as she looked at me. "I was deeply foolish to presume, anything."

I couldn't look into her eyes anymore. Not because I thought she was being dishonest; but, because I had no idea what to do going forward. Her gaze was so overwhelming – if I kept staring into her remorse, my anger would be lost, and the anger felt too good to lose. Flush, hot, waves of it burned inside of me. Coating my chest with licks of flame that ached pleasurably against the bleeding husk of loss. Charlie and I had just started to become close again, and now I was going to lose him.

"Whether you meant to do this or not doesn't change what is," my voice hoarsely spoke as I turned my eyes from the stormy street where I'd last seen my father.

"Verily, my love, I can never _amend-_ "

My fingers rose to touch her lips, unwilling to hear her grovel more while there was more important things to do.

"I know…We can talk about this later," she leaned down to kiss me, and I let her. Desperate to feel some form of comfort after what had been ripped from me. Her innocence did not erase the pain; but, it eased my soul, and I felt safe in her arms. Reluctantly, she broke her lips from mine, and the wine of her tear-drenched lips sang to me as I leaned my head back to look at her. Anger could wait, we had to make this right.

"Do you know where Charlie is?"

Edythe shook her head, furrowing her brow. "I cannot be certain, my family rarely venture to eateries. I saw a small building with green embellishments and beige curtains. A diner of some kind."

Relief flooded through me. "Carver's Cafe. Charlie and I used to eat there a lot over the summer."

A succor washed over Edythe's expression as she saw my relief, and it bloomed into the purest hope from the mystery being solved. "Not four blocks from us," she praised as she set me down and vanished into the house.

We'd left the door open, and I presumed she would just close the door; but, she returned with my purse and jacket in her hands. I was so used to Edythe or Alice driving me everywhere that the idea of needing my car keys had escaped me completely.

"Thank you," I whispered as my arms drowned into the sleeves of my purple coat. As soon as I had my purse in my hands, my fingers fumbled so much that Edythe dove her hand inside to grab my keys. She held them out to me; but, I shook my head.

"No, you drive, you're faster," I insisted as I walked around my Beast to the passenger seat. Opening the door of my husk of old, red, metal when a sound startled me from above.

Lightning flared, thunder clashed, the sound booming like fireworks over our heads. If a fire started in the forest where the lightning had struck, the flames died as swiftly as they were birthed. Far enough away from the house that I felt safe. No smoke rose from the trees that I could see, and my heart stopped panicking by the time Edythe held her hand out for me.

Closing the door behind me, I held her hand tightly in my own and resolutely bit down on my lip.

"Step on it." Once the loud engine of my baby roared to life, Edythe backed out of the driveway, and our quest for the Carver Cafe began.

As Edythe drove, I looked out the window to watch the storm. It wasn't raining as terribly as thunderstorms tended to; but, the flashes of lightning in the sky – the drums beating in the clouds – set my heart on edge. In the rain traffic could get clustered from throngs of locals wanting to buy groceries or find shelter from the rain. In this thunderstorm? The road was eerily quiet. As though whoever had decided to be out and about tonight were hunkering down already.

I couldn't really explain why there was this strange sensation of dread plucking at my heartstrings. Would Charlie really disown me? Send me back to Mom on the first ticket out? That didn't seem like something Charlie would do – he had always tried his best to put up with a bad situation. He wasn't someone who quit, much less did so easily.

We would get through this, we had to. Even knowing that, tonight felt so alien to me. Everything before tonight felt real, and now? I was in a dream, and only time would tell if it was going to be a nightmare.

There weren't very many parking spots once we arrived, an unconscious magnet those seeking shelter from the storm. Thankfully, one of those cars was the police cruiser, and I sighed with relief at seeing it.

"The cruiser – Charlie's here!" Squeezing Edythe's hand joyously without a second thought – her telepathy skills were a godsend tonight.

Edythe chuckled affectionately at me, looking more relieved than pleased with herself. "Why don't you hop out by the door, and I'll go park in the back to wait for you," Edythe suggested, and while I wanted to protest, getting all wet from the rain wasn't something I was too eager to experience.

"Alright; but, wait for me to wave in the window before you come in." I bit down on my lip again, tapping my toes anxiously in one shoe.

"Until you wave, then," Edythe promised, squeezing my hand very softly and bending to kiss my knuckles before she let me go. Waiting another thirty or so seconds before I found the courage to move, I anxiously kept watching her after I got out of the car. Perhaps to delay the inevitable, I kept watching the Beast putter forward until it was settled in the far right corner of the parking lot. A part of me wondered how Edythe would see me wave from the window all the way over there; but, she was a mind reader – maybe she would just hear my words through someone's head and wait for me to wave as a courtesy.

Not able to see where Charlie was sitting from the light fog sticking to the windows of the diner, I inhaled a deep breath and pushed myself through the door.

The quiet jingle of the bell on the front door made everyone look up from their meals. My hand raising to give an awkward, pressured, wave at complete strangers so they might stop looking at me. Whether it worked or not, I turned my attention to the usual corner table where my father and I used to sit during my visits over the summer.

There he was, same spot, same table, predictable as clockwork. In front of him was a bottle of some kind of beer; but, it looked as though he hadn't taken any drinks from it yet. Good, maybe he would be more open to talk. His face was looking down at an open newspaper. Fingers twiddling in rhythmic, quiet, taps over the words as he read. I couldn't entirely be certain what he was thinking or going through. Maybe I was rushing this by not giving Charlie time to think. Even so, I couldn't stop myself from coming forward to his table and setting my hand on the back of the rounded, wooden, chair beside him.

"Dad?"

Charlie jerked, startled out of his thoughts from the sound of my voice. I suppose that was a better reaction than a fiercely sudden glare. My bottom lip began to throb – I must have been nibbling on it. Hastily, I wet my lips to try and dull the stinging.

His eyes snapped up to my face, where they stared awkwardly into my own before instantly flicking back to the newspaper. Any connection disrupted before we could form eye-contact. Clearing his throat, rather loudly, he nodded awkwardly; but, said nothing to me. Being asked to go to a dance every day for a year would have been more bearable than this – for the both of us. I would have to be the one to say something first, if only I could muster the confidence. Wringing my fingers, hoping it might give me some courage, my fingers were damp from sweating and I shoved them into my coat pockets to dry them.

"Um, can we talk?" My eyes flicked to the daily specials sign, too afraid of seeing something hateful on Charlie's face to stare at him while I spoke. Occasionally I flicked my eyes to his face, but he seemed to be struggling as much as I was. Keeping his eyes on the ketchup bottle with more intensity than a red, plastic, bottle deserved. Thankfully this unbearable, disjointed, moment was interrupted.

"Is that you, Bella?" An intrigued, cheerful, voice broke the harrowing tension. "Wow, I just can't get over how grown up you are. How many years has it been?"

I turned my head away from the ketchup bottle to see a familiar set of warm, dark eyes. A name-tag pinned to her chest read 'Cora' in bright white letters. She was one of my father's friends, and if memory served me right, her father owned this diner. She looked so happy to see me that I felt a bit guilty to not have remembered who she was during my cursory glance of the restaurant.

"Hey, Cora," Another pathetic excuse for a wave made my hand knock into the side of the wooden table. Knocking everything over half an inch, and startling everyone within five feet from me.

"If I had any doubts it was you, that settles it," Cora teased as she tried to hold out a menu toward me. "Are you eating, too?"

I honestly didn't know, it was really up to my father, so I looked at him. He looked up without looking to either of us before he used his foot to push out the chair beside me. The wood on wood sound was almost as awful as nails on chalkboard; but, it meant he wanted me to stay, and for that the noise was wonderful. The chair welcomed me with a quiet groan as I sat down.

"Yeah, I'll have what he's having," I said, not bothering to look at the menu. I couldn't stop watching Charlie's face for any inkling of forgiveness that he might let slip in his expression.

"Any drinks?"

"Root beer, sounds fine," I mentioned, giving Cora a more genuine smile.

"Root beer it is. Straight from the bottle like your father?" Cora joked as she held the menu up against her chest. As though to hug it against her body. Unable to contain her excitement to see my father and I together again.

Her joke made both of us uneasy, and Cora seemed to know it, given the chuckle she made. I could only nod ineptly until she sauntered off to put my order in. Once she was at least a table away from earshot, I turned to look at my father and reach out for his hand. My eyes on his chin more than his eyes, to make it easier to say something.

"Dad, I -"

Charlie held his hand up on front of me, closing his newspaper and setting the folded product on the edge of the table. Even when the distraction was gone, he didn't look at my face – just exhaled loudly and set both of his hands on the table in front of him.

"I don't know what to say, Bells." He blinked uncomfortably, and I had no doubts of where I got that twitch from.

"I don't know either," I seconded, shrugging my shoulders lightly in an effort to be nonchalant. "I just" – there was no easy way to put this, trying was leading nowhere – "I'm sorry you had to find out... _that way."_

The grimace that curled Charlie's lips made my toes turn to ice; but, he didn't seem to be grimacing at me. Or at least he was too nice to want to hurt me if he was by glaring directly at my face. He huffed hot air from his nose, shaking his head to and fro before he spoke.

"Were you ever planning on telling me?" He huffed through his nose in another deep sigh as he looked out the window. Eyes snapping back to me as he waited for my answer.

I bit down on my lip, cold shivers of fear trickling through me. "Yeah, of course I was going to." My clammy hand stuck to the table when I set it there. "I just didn't know how to tell you."

He shrugged as an answer, an understanding eclipsing his features as he 'seconded' that motion with a nod. Or at least, that was what the gesture looked like. We both didn't know what to do in this situation, and I didn't know anyone who has been through this kind of thing to ask.

"Does Renee know?"

I shook my head, a little worried that he felt like mom and I hadn't been honest with him. "No, I'm not sure how to tell her, either."

The look of awkward understanding replenished his face. He seemed less pale and clammy, even though my own symptoms hadn't evaporated yet. "I don't know what to do about this."

A part of me truly hated what I was about to say – up until this point I couldn't recall something that I loathed as badly as this phrase. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything else to use as a reference point. I took a leaf out of Edythe's book, sighed, and set both hands on the table in front of Charlie.

"Well, if you had walked in on" My lip throbbed, I was biting it again. "what you saw, and I was with a guy, what would you have done?"

The idea of any father seeing his daughter making out with someone would have been horrifying enough; but, at the reminder of the incident being rekindled in his mind, his mouth formed into another grimace. He blinked excessively, shaking his head awkwardly, as though to erase that memory like an etch-a-sketch. Honestly, I was having near the same reaction. There were things I didn't want him or mom to see, period, and knowing he had made me sick to my stomach. It rumbled; but, not loud enough to make the room look to our table.

He sighed, greatly, looking down at the tabletop. "Well, I would have thrown him out, maybe grabbed my shotgun."

"Dad!" The word flew out of me in horror, even though I knew in my heart he'd have never shot Edythe over something like that. "You wouldn't…"

"Bells, I'm not that hot-headed," He chided softly. "But if a boy put his hands on you, I'd be tempted to do it." He shrugged uncomfortably, shaking his head over and over. "I have no idea what I walked in on with" – he had trouble saying her name – "Edythe. If that was a spur of the moment thing, Or if you'd been hiding it from me."

"Raise your hands – salad's up."

I was about to answer; but, Cora returned with two white bowls of side salad. They probably came with the meal, and since I rarely ordered soup in my life, she might have just presumed I'd want the same salad as Charlie. That was a little endearing, in an odd sort of way, and we both awkwardly smiled to her.

"Thanks, Cora," Charlie praised, his voice sounding closer to its normal level of friendliness. The talking was helping, and my own anxiety began to diminish.

"Thanks," I repeated quietly, already grabbing the pepper shaker to dust the top of our ranch salads. I was so used to doing it at home, when I cooked dinners, that it didn't even seem weird for me to do it now. Until Cora laughed, of course.

"Goodness, you both are too adorable," Her happy voice spread infectious smiles on our faces. "I'm going to bring your favorite, Bella. Berry cobbler with fresh-made whipped cream."

My mouth opened to protest the free dessert; but, Charlie curled his mustached mouth in a Cheshire smile. "That's real sweet of you, Cora, thank you."

The older, pretty, woman chuckled mischievously at her friend. "Hey, I'm only bringing Bella free cobbler. If you want one, you'll have to order it."

Charlie guffawed in answer. "Sure, sure, throw it on my tab."

The way Cora laughed seemed to convey that the 'tab' was nonexistent and they were chuckling about a running joke. Did restaurants even do 'tabs' anymore? Wasn't that something that happened in the old Western, cowboy, movies? At any rate, the exchange lightened my spirits.

"Thanks, Cora," I expressed with a curl to my mouth. It was easy to genuinely smile at her now that the worst seemed over. She smiled back affectionately as she set the cold bottle of root beer on the table beside my hand.

"Sure thing, gorgeous, just keep an eye on your ugly father for me," Cora joked with a hearty laugh, and Charlie scoffed with amusement as she sauntered off.

"Hardy, har, har. She can only say that because she's workin'," he mumbled. More to himself than me as he took his fork and began to stab at bits of lettuce. Mixing his salad with the ranch dressing through careful fork 'tossing'.

I mimicked him with my own fork, and for a few minutes things were silent. I chewed more daintily than he did, but the pair of us eating salad meant there was little room for talking. For a while, I started to have a false sense of security that the conversation was on hold for now, and that bright star abruptly died out as Charlie cleared his throat.

"So, is this" – he gestured back and forth between me and the air with one hand – "thing you have going on." He paused to dab a napkin against his lips and mustache; watching me with the shrewdness any father might use to interrogate their children. "Between you and Edythe? Or should I be worried about Alice, too?"

The sheer idea of kissing Alice romantically made me shudder with revulsion. Sure, Alice was a beautiful woman; but, it would be like making out a little sister. The grimace of disgust on my lips might have been all the answer that Charlie needed; but, still I had to reassure him. Shaking my head over and over from the sheer, audacious, repugnancy of that unsettling image. Eww, making out with Alice.

"No, no," I shivered enough that my fork jostled in my hand. "No, I'm not that kind of person, Dad. The only person I've been with is Edythe."

Suddenly Charlie's eyes widened like a frightened owl. _"_ _ _Been with?"__

The fork nearly dropped out of my hand. " _N-n—_ not _what I meant_ , Dad," my face felt wet and clammy, now. "I mean that,.."

Fear made my body tense, my tongue swell, and my heart to race rapidly. Cold sweat burned under my shirt, inside my shoes, and I began to feel feverish. He just kept looking at me shrewdly with those Chief of Police interrogator eyes. Unfortunately, I cracked under that kind of pressure.

"I _mean_ ," Ugh, why was this so hard to say? My tongue felt too swollen to pronounce anything, now. His intense gaze was too much to take. "Edythe is my girlfriend, I'm a one person, woman," was I woozy? I felt woozy, and without thinking about it the phrase just rolled off my tongue.

"Kind of like my dad, in that way." Oh no, that thought should – not – have slipped out.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he took a drink of his beer and arched an eyebrow at me.

"Just that I don't go out looking for romance, wild parties, those kind of things," I countered, stabbing my fork in the salad bowl to devour a large bite of tomato and goat cheese while he processed what I said.

"Hey, your old man had plenty of fun back in the day," he defended himself as he took a bite of his own salad. Crunching a mite too loudly on a crouton, though the noise didn't keep some casual acquaintances of my father's at another table to laugh at Charlie's expense. I laughed too, my father? Party animal? Did he count game night as a party?

"Sure, if you say so," I teased, taking a sip of my root beer once my salad was devoured. "I know you loved mom for a long time after you guys split up" – my father's cheerful expression faltered from the suddenness of the tender subject – "I think I'm the type to love a long time, too."

Charlie visibly sweat. Perspiration almost drained down to his mustache before he wiped his face with a napkin. Trying his best to be cheerful at the bomb I had just dropped, guilt consumed me as I watched him suffer. He reminded me of a worm trapped on the sidewalk; rolling around desperately to avoid the sun.

"You" – he gagged in shock, and terror overwhelmed me – "think you _love_ her?" He was confused, clearly not able to mentally grasp or understand how his daughter could have deep, romantic, feelings for another girl.

There was no easy answer. I could either lie and say we only just started going out – which was technically true. Or, I could be honest and tell him that I loved her. To the first, lying to protect him would probably do more harm than good down the road. To the second, to make light of how I felt seemed an inexcusable crime. I'd already done it enough, and now that my father knew, why hide it anymore? If he freaked out and disowned me, I still had a family to go to. Even if one of them hated me, right now. In the end, the answer was easy, and it brushed off of my lips like a cloud.

"I _do_ …love Edythe, Dad. I – I don't expect you to understand. Whatever happens, happens, but-"

Charlie reached out and touched my hand just enough for me to stop rambling. "That's something your mom would know more about than I do. I'm no expert on love, Bells," he explained with a low sigh, clearly thinking about what happened with mom. It was obvious he still carried a torch for her, and it wounded me to see him this way. "But, as long as she doesn't hurt you, I won't stop you two from being together."

For the first time since I sat down, I felt like I could truly breathe again. "You won't?"

Charlie awkwardly took another drink from his bottle of beer. "With some guidelines in place, that you _both_ respect, I won't have a reason to stand in your way."

"That sounds fair," I replied, unconsciously tossing little bits of trash like napkins and forks into the salad bowls at the edge of the table. To make Cora's job a little bit easier, I guess. Call it a courtesy habit, at diners or other restaurants I tried to keep things tidy.

"I'm still not sure I'm 'for' or 'against' this. You and…Edythe…threw the ball out of the park, Bells," he sighed softly through his lips; making his mustache rustle. "I still need time to process and come up with fair rules for you dating anybody. Kind of hoped I'd never have to worry about boys with you, much less…"

"Do you want me to have a curfew?"

"Home by" – he shrugged and shook his head uncomfortably – "eleven, on weekends. Earlier than that on a school night. If your studies suffer, or you get into trouble, then you'll both have to have some distance."

All of these stipulations sounded pretty normal for any father to say, and I agreed to each condition with a nod of acknowledgment. "Sounds good, Dad. Those all sound fair," I commented, only to purse my lips.

Whatever I planned on saying evaporated as soon as Cora returned with our dinner platters. She set them down with experienced ease, moving happily to set down a bottle of steak sauce beside Charlie's plate. Of course, it was steak, broccoli, and a baked potato. Charlie's favorite thing besides Fish Fries.

" _Hey_ – is this Bella?" An older, male, voice sounded from behind Cora. He didn't look familiar. Despite the warmth in his eyes, everything about this man was lost to me. I blinked at him in greeting, hoping that would rekindle some kind of awareness of how this person knew me. "Wow, you're practically grown."

Charlie sighed playfully, unwrapping the rest of his silverware as he spoke. "Waylon, if you're not paying for our steak, can you let us eat in peace?" He mentioned, giving Waylon a pretend kick to the leg.

This playful banter obviously happened enough for Waylon to not be phased by it. "I don't know if you remember me, Bella? I played Santa, one year."

Trying desperately to be nice, I smiled forcibly at Waylon. He seemed nice enough, just, being trapped in the corner seat of a small restaurant made me uneasy.

"Waylon, she hasn't had a Christmas here since she was four."

Cora scoffed and shoved Waylon's shoulder playfully. "Let the girl eat her steak, Waylon," she said with a chuckle as she picked up our empty salad bowls and walked away toward the back of the Diner.

Waylon scratched the top of his shaved head rather bashfully. "I'm glad to see you've grown up so well, Bella." His head turned to my father. "See you Saturday, Charles. Bring that lucky lure. You know, the one with the blue feathers on it?"

Charlie laughed as he looked up, his hands still slicing off bits of meat from his steak. "That lure is only lucky _for you_ , but I'll try and bring it. Don't forget that Salmon Jerky."

"You got it, Chief." Waylon grinned sheepishly and waved at my father, only to return to his seat at the bar counter and dive into what looked like cheesy fries. I didn't watch Waylon anymore, and instead I turned to look at Charlie. My hands unconsciously mimicking him to slice pieces from my own steak.

"Hey, Dad?" I started, waiting for Charlie to look at me before I continued. "I just wanted to say that Edythe wanted you to know about us from the start."

Charlie looked up at me from his dinner, finishing a large bite of steak before he commented a vague 'Hhm'. Clearly unable to properly speak from how chewy this cut of steak happened to be tonight. Only when he swallowed did he comment further, and by then I was chewing a piece of steak in my mouth.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, or mom. I thought, I don't know, that you would be disgusted if you knew."

The fork fell out of my father's hand and clattered loudly on the table. He was so angry that the veins in his neck began to protrude – so flabbergasted that he kept swallowing the fluid in his mouth. Slowly the alarm faded to something more reasonable, but for several breaths he didn't move.

"Bells," Charlie finally spoke. "I always want you to be able to talk to me. I may not be" – he struggled to finish his thought – " _ _good,__ at talking, and I'm not going to like everything you do; but, you'll always be my girl."

At a loss for words, I nodded. Chewing slowly and swallowing before I exhaled a deep, cleansing, breath. This went far better than I could have hoped for, so good in fact that this didn't feel real to me. He kept staring at me, reading my face, and I watched Charlie back – soaking in the worry that coated the same brown eyes I'd been born with. With how much I'd already wept tonight, there wasn't much water that could cover my irises; but, fluid choked up my throat. I swallowed;but, the lump didn't dissolve.

"Edythe is out in the car, did you want to talk to her?" I finally said, hoping that I could break the tension somehow from how vulnerable I felt.

Charlie had just picked up his fork and knife when I spoke, and he froze for several seconds before he nodded. "Sure, did she eat?"

Edythe? Eat? "She had a slim-fast shake in the car," I semi-lied. She _was_ 'technically' on a liquid diet.

Charlie stabbed his fork into his steak, grimacing at the idea of anyone living off of breakfast shakes. "It's a wonder she's alive at all," he mumbled, but his response was all I needed.

"Alright, I'm gonna wave to her from the window."

He acknowledged with a firm nod, reading his newspaper again while he ate.

Scooting out of my chair, I peeled open the bottom layer of beige curtains covering the lower half of the window. About to wave in the direction of my parked truck when something concerning caught my eye. Edythe wasn't in the truck, she was nearby – outside the window by the handicapped parking spaces. Alice was there, in a semi-matching baseball outfit and navy baseball cap. I couldn't hear what they were saying; but, they both looked concerned about something.

"Alice is here. I'll be right back, Dad." Charlie looked up at me worriedly before he nodded. His eyes following me as I walked away from our table. The Diner was so small that it only took me two, maybe three, steps before I reached the door. The door jingled as I stepped out, but the noise didn't startle seem to startle anyone.

Keeping under the limited roof to protect myself from the falling rain, I turned the corner around the Diner.

Alice and Edythe were standing four parking spots away from the window where dad and I had been sitting. Edythe had her hands in her pockets, her eyes downcast to watch her shorter sister's face. Not wishing to waste time, I hurriedly walked toward them. Be it the distant thunder crashes, or the puddles I splashed through, I only heard what Alice was saying when I was standing within five feet from her.

"Well, don't worry about it anymore. Charlie is going to be alright once he talks to her mother," Alice preened reassuringly. "For now, we need to talk abo-"

"Hang on, Ally," Edythe gently interrupted as her eyes met my own. Alice turned hastily around, her expression writhing with pain and joy as she saw me.

"Bella!" In a heartbeat she danced to my side and swept me up in her slender arms. Her baseball outfit was soaked through; but, the sisterly squeeze was worth all the damp shivering in the world.

"Hey, Alice," I almost whispered, so happy to see that she was here for me.

"Are you alright?" She ran her fingers along my back in gentle pats. I truly felt like Alice would protect me from everything in the world if she could.

"I'm fine, Alice, really," I replied with a quiet laugh.

"My _poor_ Bella," Alice wrapped her arms around me again, clearly unable to stop herself from holding me. I stayed very still and let her hug me, trying to watch Edythe from behind her spiky, wet, hair. "Everything is going to be okay, Bella, I know it is."

"I hope so," the words whispered from me against her shoulder.

Somehow I knew that even if Alice didn't have the gift of foresight, she wouldn't have been wrong. Her faith was tangible, and I latched onto it with everything I had. Alice kept holding me in her arms, even when Edythe cleared her throat from behind us.

"Ally, do you mind giving my girlfriend back?"

Girlfriend. The word made me blush, mostly because – despite there not being anyone else _around_ – the word had been said in a public place. My face felt like it was on fire.

"That is __entirely__ up to Bella," Alice said with her nose held comically high in the air, spinning away from me enough to not be holding onto me anymore.

Edythe held her arms open for me, and I sighed at her irresistible charm. Being in Alice's arms was already a cocoon of safety; but, the electricity from Edythe's touch filled my soul with an indescribably indentured peace. No, peace wasn't a fair enough word – I felt complete. Charlie knew, and he didn't hate me, or hate us, or hate that I loved her. I could enjoy this whenever I wanted, now, and it was beyond any exhilaration I had ever felt to not have to worry who saw us anymore.

"Indeed," Edythe finally teased, but I wasn't listening to her words anymore. Her eyes were far too hypnotic to care for anything else. I didn't even care if she knew the effect she had on me, right now. My eyes only drank in her lips as she curled her mouth. That familiar sly, tomboyish, smirk splashing onto her face as she rocked me side to side – it made my knees weak. I wasn't even aware that we were dancing until I heard Alice clear her throat behind us.

"Ahem," the noise startled me enough to look over my shoulder. Alice was giggling, altogether _too_ happy to keep watching Edythe and I croon over each other. She lovingly tapped her wrist and pointed behind her toward the windows. "Charlie is going to come out if you take much longer..."

"Oh – right. We need to get inside," I mentioned, reluctantly releasing myself from Edythe's perfect arms to stand beside her. Taking her hand in my own, I was about to start walking when Alice began to walk in the opposite direction. "Where are you going Alice?"

She looked surprised to be stopped, and turned with something rather bashful smeared all over her face. Her eyes brightened and sparkled at the invitation. "I have to get back home, we have" – she paused, her eyes flicking toward Edythe's face for a second – " _company_. I just came to see if you were alright, Bella."

As encouraging as Alice's voice was, something felt a bit off and I couldn't be certain of why. There was nothing in Alice's expression, or Edythe's demeanor, that gave me the impression that their family was in any _danger_. The dread from earlier tugged at my stomach again, like ice cubes in my stomach.

"Is your company staying long?" I had to ask, Edythe's arm wrapping around my waist as I did so.

Alice uncomfortably smiled. "I'm not sure, they haven't made their mind up, yet. One of them, Laurent, is planning on staying for a while. The others, James and his _m-_ _wife_ , Victoria, they're mostly just waiting for Laurent to satiate his curiosity so they all can leave. I can tell it's making them antsy though. They're debating whether or not to head on without him."

Biting down on my lip, it seemed altogether too obvious that these _gues_ t _s_ were other vampires. Was that why Alice felt off? Did she just not want to worry me, right now? Nothing she said sounded too bad. Surely Carlisle and the others would convince them not to feed in the area.

"Are these old friends of yours?"

Alice uncomfortably swallowed as she looked back at Edythe. I felt my lover nod, and Alice flicked her eyes warmly to me. "No, they heard us playing baseball a few miles off and wanted to join our game."

Those words weren't alarming, and Alice wasn't 'worried' by her facial expression, why did I feel so weird? Surely vampires passed through from time to time? Was that why Edythe didn't want to go to the baseball game? To protect me? My thoughts ran wild as I looked back and forth between them.

"If the lovers make a decision, let me know, Ally. You have Bella's number?" Edythe insisted, and Alice cheerfully nodded. Grinning boldly as she looked to the restaurant behind us and pointed again.

"Okay – but, you two __have__ to tell me __all about__ _what happens_ _tonight_ ," she insisted as she moved to wrap me in her arms again.

"Of course you do," I sighed playfully.

Alice wrinkled her nose at me as she withdrew from the hug. _"Hey,_ even Cupid deserves his spoils," she haughtily chortled as she swayed to and fro on the balls of her feet. She moved with such elegance that I found myself mildly jealous. Someday, I hoped, my feet wouldn't be tripping all the time. My knee was probably going to have a nasty bruise from the counter bang, I could feel it starting to badly smart now that the crisis had been averted.

"Pfft, Cupid shoots where he's told to, _imp_ ," Edythe grinned as she began to turn – leading me toward the restaurant. However, as soon as we stepped into the light near the windows, Alice suddenly let out a gasp.

"Edythe! Stop!" Alice shrieked in a harsh whisper as she took off her own baseball coat and handed it to Edythe. "Put this on, now, before you go in there," Alice insisted, probably for my benefit, as she waited for Edythe to take the coat. It took me a few seconds to realize what made Alice screech like a night owl.

It was pouring rain, and Edythe was wearing a _white shirt_.

The shudder of shock that broke from my own lips nearly sucked all the air from my lungs. Water had caused the material of her t-shirt to cling against her body – making the fabric semi-transparent. Regardless that she was wearing a sport's bra, the sight of Edythe's partially revealed cleavage made me woozy. My legs burned; my knees felt like melting butter. Hot breath steamed in a puff of gray fog from my lips as I stared down to my feet. A bad attempt at trying to hide my tomato face. Edythe had been wet this entire time! How had I not noticed!?

Edythe hastily slipped Alice's coat over her body and zipped it up; but, it made little difference. With Alice being a much smaller woman, the coat was simply too tight. Grimacing uncomfortably, Edythe unzipped it down half-way just so she could move – much less be able to simulate breathing. If not for being red all over, desperately thinking of anything to distract myself, I might have found it hilarious.

"Oh, _please_ , Eedee. It's not _that_ bad."

I could feel the sarcasm on Edythe's face from here, and yet I didn't dare look up to her face. Even knowing it was now safe to look, my eyes stuck to the pavement. Watching those tacky baseball shoes that Edythe thought were cool, just to try and control my inexperienced libido. In the corner of my eye, Alice's expensive looking, mud-coated, tennis shoes slipped away from my field of vision.

"I want _details,_ Bella!" Alice called, from a little distance away. "Love you, both!"

"Say 'hi' to Jasper for us!" Edythe called after her in parting before she looked at me. Her hair falling in front of my face as the only earmark, besides her body facing me, that she was taking in every aspect of my burning face. My heartbeat kept thudding – and I really didn't have the energy to keep going from one shock to another to handle it if she kissed me right now.

"W-we should" – I practically swallowed my tongue – "head inside."

Somehow, I could feel her evil, tomboyish, grin slather over her mouth without needing to look up and verify. Why did the thought alone effect me so much?!

 _"Later,"_ Edythe whispered devilishly as she dipped down.

Catching the tip of my ear between her teeth, and nibbling.


	21. Chapter Twenty - Intentions

_Thank you for being patient, I was taking care of my mother these past few weeks, as well as getting my own health in check. I argued to myself over and over on whether or not to skip the conversation between Edythe and Charlie, but everything inside me screamed that Edythe would be furious with me if I didn't let her speak to him. So, this is the unfortunate result, and I do hope you enjoy it. Apologies in advance for the cliffhanger, but, this is as far as I felt like I could go without making you all wait for a month._

 _x_

 _Part of why it took me so long to finish this chapter, is because of the loss of momentum that filled me when I found out that someone on Archive (another fanfiction site) named lesbiangirl1998 stole this story and edited it mildly to publish it as her own. In the past, I was always okay with others sharing my story if they give me the credit, it means a lot to me that others enjoy the story I'm writing. However, having the trust or faith I have in people being broken to some degree is difficult. I'm starting to understand why Stephanie Meyer stopped working on Edward's point of view when someone leaked the story before it was ready. While it hurt me, this story is still my own, and no one is going to rob me of the joy I have in writing it. Doesn't mean I won't get battleground 'Leah' on those thieves, hardy-har-har._

 _x_

 _Thank you for your patience and dedication, as well as your reviews, comments, and private messages. I enjoy talking with you all, when I can, and I hope to continue to amuse._

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty**

* * *

Cold arms wrapped around me, and I let myself drift away. It was inescapable to me – the shivers that cascaded through my skin. A sensation of being tethered and flying everywhere at once. It reminded me of carnivals mom used to take me to when I was younger – a Yo-Yo ride of swings that lifted me up off the ground without launching me to space. My heart beat as rapidly as the music that flared out from the speakers between the rides. I was inviolable in her arms; exhilaratingly secure.

"We should go inside," one of us whispered. It sounded like my voice, but how could I say such abysmal things?

Edythe withdrew her iceberg arms from me, and the shivers of her absence felt colder than when she'd held me. Our hands reached out for each other, still connected when we stepped inside. This time the myriad of faces looking to see who caused the door bells to jingle didn't unsettle me so greatly. Everyone was staring, but there seemed to be an invisible shield between myself and the strangers in the diner. I felt safe with Edythe's hand in mine and the worry of what was outside the invisible wall couldn't touch me when I felt her skin against mine. Charlie was the only person whose reaction I feared and he was too busy working on his steak to notice us approach the table.

"Chief Swan," Edythe began, in the most formal of friendly tones, before she bashfully smiled and cleared her throat. "C-Charlie, I mean."

Charlie awkwardly tried to chuckle; but, worry soaked his eyes. Regardless of that, his mustache wiggled as he held out his hand toward Edythe. "Chief Swan is fine."

"Thank you, Charlie," Edythe said, clamping her eyes shut exacerbatedly.

"Just sit down," Charlie insisted, and gestured with his head toward the other chairs.

"Sure, Dad," I muttered to break tension. Sitting down in front of my barely touched dinner, Edythe took the seat beside me without releasing my hand. Her back protecting me from where the throng of eyes had been watching us, though they strangely seemed indifferent to our corner table now. A part of me really wanted to eat, but the end of my fork continued to lay there next to my steak as I looked between the two. Edythe stared at Charlie while my father took way too much time cutting up his baked potato. At home he'd have already finished, much less wasted any time by slicing things into smaller bites.

"I wanted to re-introduce myself, officially" – Edythe began as I took hold of my fork – "and reassure you of my intentions with your daughter."

Charlie's steak knife accidentally scratched like nails on a chalkboard against his dinner plate. His eyes momentarily widening like owls in a panic as the sound echoed through the Diner. Anything else Edythe might have been planning to say seemed to die as soon as the screech emerged, as her mouth hung open part-way in surprise.

Everyone looked at our table now, and I unconsciously moved our hands under the table at all the eyes zooming in on us. Mildly nettled, Charlie sighed and set the steak knife down on his plate and pushed the plate away.

"And what _are_ your intentions, Edythe?" He asked with a sharper tone that probably worked well at the station. It worried me, and I set my fork down next to the broccoli. All appetite washed away, even as the eyes stopped watching us.

Edythe looked at me anxiously. Despite having a feeling that she wanted me to say something, I couldn't figure out what she needed me to say. Finally, she looked back at my father and spoke. "I am earnestly pursuing her," Charlie furrowed an eyebrow at the odd way of phrasing things, and Edythe seemed to sweat without perspiring. "I imply, I-I _intend_ to take her seriously."

Charlie took a drink from his beer, swallowing before he said anything. "What do you mean by 'seriously'?"

To be perfectly honest, I was curious what Edythe meant by that, too, and now she had both of us staring at her. She she squared her shoulders against the back of the chair, and I couldn't help from imagining her juxtaposed with medieval royalty. A strange imagery to have while we sat at the corner table of the Carver Cafe, if only I wasn't so nervous, I might have chuckled at her somber posture.

"Bella and I are still getting to know each other, seeing where our interests rest," Edythe mentioned, pausing to look over at me with that hidden anxiety shining in her eyes; but, again, I was lost for what to say. "Whilewe're getting to know each other, I won't interfere with her studies or monopolize her time with her friends and family," she wet her lips, keeping her eyes firmly set on my father.

"Hurmph," my father let out a sort of humming sound that gurgled in Charlie's throat in acknowledgment. "That sounds reasonable to say," he mentioned, and I felt like he parroted my words from earlier. "Though, I can't see how that would be different from any _other_ …person…trying to date my daughter." His hands moved back to his silverware, and he shoveled a bite of baked potato in his mouth. Chewing gravely as he kept his eyes on her face like a hawk.

Edythe swallowed uncomfortably, and I had a funny feeling that she was trying to reassure Charlie that she respected him by showing vulnerability in front of him. "I believe that Bella and I _both_ seek to have a _long-term_ relationship, Chief Swan." It was terribly endearing to watch Edythe fumbling about when she was generally so perfect at everything she did. I couldn't help myself from wanting to give her some strength for trying. Fearful that she might feel as though she was all alone in this, I raised our joined hands from under the table to rest them on the corner between us. Well within view of my father's leery brown eyes.

"We do," I seconded, offering Charlie the most reassuring smile I could give without my jaw hurting. Those two little words 'long term' repleted my soul. My heart beat in boisterous raptures – in a state of complete felicity at the mere notion of spending forever with Edythe. Those two little words made the world feel right. I could breathe again; Eat again. Hunger stirred my stomach and I speared a slice of steak from my plate. Cramming it into my mouth as daintily as possible.

"Should we continue to concord this way when high school ends, I have every intention of _p–proposing_ to her."

What?! My soul left my body from astonishment. Proposing!? **Proposing!?** My eyes were completely aghast whether I wished them to or not. My father clearly had the same reaction, only he retched from taking a drink and 'Vitamin R' beer guzzled out his nose! We both hurriedly dabbed our faces with napkins in a procession of unsettling coughs.

"W-wh-woah, there – ahem, grrgl," Charlie gagged again, clearing his throat as his eyes grew red from near-choking. "You're both _awfully_ young to be thinkin' about marriage."

"I – I'm not expecting us to tie the knot i-immediately after high school ends, Chief Swan-" Edythe attempted to assure; but, Charlie was choking and everyone in the restaurant was looking at us. My concern instantly fell to my father, as it was certainly more realistic for him to choke on beer than it was for Edythe to talk about proposing to me!

"S- _shhshhshh,_ " I wavered to my bewildered Edythe before I my gaze snapped back toward my father. "Dad!? Dad, are you okay?!" I blabbered, moving to stand and try and smack the back of his shoulders to help. Clearly that failed, as he was alright by the time I stood.

"Bells, _Bells_ , stop, I'm alright," he said, widening his eyes and shaking his head; stupefied.

"F-forgive me, Chief Swan-" Edythe began to say; but, Cora magically appeared at our table. A glass of water and a washcloth in her hands.

"What's going on over here?! Did you both try to chew and swallow at the same time?" Cora joked; but, her eyes were wide with panic.

Edythe looked down in anguish, and it was only then that I realized she wasn't holding my hand anymore. Somehow, I presumed that she had never let go of my hand; but, both of her hands were tightened into fists over her thighs. If I wasn't imagining things, she was shaking.

Charlie coughed, loudly, with a wheeze. "I'm fine," he said, no doubt trying to laugh this off as he hated eyes on him as much as I did. "Don't you both go trying to nurse me all at once," Charlie insisted.

"You're just as bad as Earl," Cora teased with she sigh as she set her hands on her hips and turned to bus a nearby table. Earl, if I remembered correctly, was Cora's husband and a high-school friend of my father.

Once Cora was out of earshot, which seemed to take forever before she had moved far enough away, Charlie he moved to lightly pat Edythe's shoulder a few times. "I erm…appreciate your forthcoming, Edythe. But, let's save _that_ sort of talkfor down the road?" His eyes bulged on his face again. " _Far,_ far, down the road."

"Y-yeah, lets not...kill my father," I joked, and Edythe laughed with enough affection in her gaze for me to feel somewhat relieved. Underneath the veneer of amusement; however, the pain lingering in her eyes was unavoidable for me to notice. Masquerading ease and charm, the keen ache vanished beneath the sheen her face had molded to. My heart prickled with concern; but, now was not the time to ask her about it.

"Bells, I'm as healthy as a horse. A shock ain't going to kill me." Charlie joined in the laugh, as though nothing was wrong with the world he was living, even shaking his head as he set the steak sauce near my plate.

It felt so very strange to me. How can the world can vary so much between two people? Bubbling viscous acid clogged my chest, because my father could never know or understand what the future held for us. How often would Edythe and I have to sit here and pretend to be normal, when we weren't normal? How could I sit here for the next two years, smile, and laugh at his small-town puns when I was going to put him through hell?

I'm not entirely sure how long I sat there with my fork hovering in the air. Was it a few seconds? A couple minutes? Time seemed to pause for me over and over tonight, making the minutes stretch on, or pass altogether too quickly. All I knew was that eventually Charlie raised his head guardedly and shrewdly narrowed one eye toward Edythe.

"So, Edythe, Bella tells me you live off of Slim-fast shakes?"

Edythe practically snorted; one hand instantly covering the grin that splashed across her face. "Only on occasion, Chief Swan." The mirage of my beloved feigning all cordiality beside me.

The rest of dinner passed in similar fashion. Between forced witty banter and vague personal questions that Edythe seemed to sail through with flying colors, I barely finished my berry cobbler. Much of my meal had to be safely ensconced in a Styrofoam container that I held on my lap during the ride home. Charlie had taken the Cruiser, and Edythe had insisted upon climbing back into the driver's seat.

As soon as I was buckled in, her eyes drifted toward me and I turned – drawn in by the magnetism of her gaze. Vaguely aware that the car was backing out of the parking spot, her hands moved, band yet my eyes continued to stare longingly at her face. She looked nervous, and I had to wonder what made her anxious the most. Was it the talk with Charlie? The company at her house? The way I had shushed her about…

"Edythe, what did you mean?" Unable to hold back the question any longer, I struggled for words as I ran my fingers absentmindedly over the Styrofoam food container. "About _proposing_?" Regardless of how I wanted to avoid that subject forever, it pricked too much in my head, and I couldn't resist the ping.

Her expression waned, and her eyes drifted back to the road. It wasn't raining anymore; but, lightning flickered from far off in the distance. Enough to illuminate her eyes for me to see the ache sprawled over her face. "Your meaning escapes me."

I wet my lips, as though it could give me strength. "I don't understand why you would want to propose to me," my head shook to and fro thoughtlessly. "We can't get married."

Her eyebrows furrowed sharply. "Pray, why couldn't we?"

"It's not legal here," I replied, feeling ridiculous for even having to say such a thing.

"If you think about it, darling, – I'm – not legal, so why should that matter? Jasper has contacts that can forge just about 'any' legal document we wish."

My throat felt dry, and I uncomfortably swallowed. "Well, we're..."

"Both women?" She said when I couldn't say anything more. "Why should that change anything?" Edythe demanded, glancing at me with her eyes narrowing into snake-like slits. "You do realize we're a stone's throw away from Canada, right? We could always get married there, where it's legal."

All warmth drained from my body. Suddenly couldn't breathe, and one hand gripped at my chest. "We're so _young_ …"

The Beast came to a halt in front of a stop sign. "Bella, _darling_ , I am not going to get any older."

My skin paled over; wet and clammy as I struggled to voice myself. "T-That's hardly fair, you're like a hundred years older than me."

Edythe wasn't driving anymore, and I realized she had pulled over to the side of the street about four houses away from Charlie's home. "Perhaps I am rather old fashioned, Bella…but, has the idea of us being married _never_ occurred to you?"

Her searching eyes were impossible to resist, and I watched my hand reach out to encompass her own. "Marriage is – it's a piece of paper. It's not a guarantee that people stay together," I explained in a stutter, scratching my fingernails into the Styrofoam container on my lap. Which did nothing to destroy the nervous energy.

Edythe folded her lithe, long, fingers around my own. "Where, or I suppose 'when', I come from…marriage is more _important_ than a flimsy piece of paper, it's how one said 'I love you'," She paused to scoot closer to me, raising my hand to kiss the back of it. The texture of her cold lips assuaged the nervous shaking, if only for a moment. "Tis a day for our families to share our joy – to commemorate our decision to spend eternity together."

My eyes watched our joined hands as though I was disjointed from my own flesh. A part of me wanted to take my hand back from her; but, the desire to feel her against me was left me desperately clinging to her every word. It wasn't as though her yearning to marry me wasn't flattering on every level, and yet unease curdled my stomach. An existential dread which sought to swallow me up completely – invisible black ooze that glazed upward from my toes.

"D-Don't you have to," I finally mustered the ability to say. "Y-you know, have to ask _me_ before we t-tell my dad?"

Her eyes welled up with understanding – indeed, she realized she had jumped the gun. Instead of feeling reassured that she was going to offer me a resolute apology, the moment I saw her turn to face me with that indescribably radiant hope glistening in her eyes, I panicked and held up my hands.

"Bella, will you-"

"W-woah - _woah -_ woah," I kept my hands up as if it could shield myself from her declaration. "T-this is _not_ the place for _that_."

Something devious curled the edge of her mouth, and I found myself churning into butter underneath my skin the longer she looked at me with those devilish eyes. "If only I had a camera to capture that expression on your face forever."

"D-Don't distract from the subject," I insisted, feeling my face swell like a puffer fish. Irritated from being teased and exasperated further because I couldn't stop my face from being so glaringly easy to read! "W-Why did you tell Charlie that you want to propose to me – tonight – of all nights?" The demand fell from me so loudly, I worried that the neighbors would their porch lights on.

Edythe's face furrowed with surprise. "I thought it best to warn him of your impending absence as soon as possible," she paused to press a softer gaze onto my face. "So you both may enjoy what time he…has left with you. Assuming, of course, that you _don't_ change your mind about becoming a vampire."

Her eyes began to gleam in the darkness and my heart raced like stray lightning had struck inside my chest. "W- _w-_ well, before you get anymore – crazy ideas – can you wait to warn me _first_ next time?"

The grin that splashed over her devious face sent shivers in all the _wrong_ places for this conversation. "Indeed, I can," she promised as she began to run her fingers in a trail along the inside of my arm. "Although, I shall certainly miss the way you _flush_ when I manage to catch you off guard."

The squeaked, mousy, sound that bubbled out of my mouth was humiliating enough without being reminded of how red my face was. "I'm not going to change my mind about being one of you. B-but in any world that I did – it won't be because you try and pull a fast one on me."

She sighed, still smirking as she watched me. "You're so stubborn…and yet, I have a little under two years to change your mind about being human," she winked at me, as though she had accepted my declaration as some kind of 'challenge'.

"There's nothing you can do," I began, scooting along the bench-seat of the Beast to be closer to her. Close enough that our thighs touched, and I brushed my leg against her stupid, damp, baseball pants. "To make me choose to be away from you."

Edythe laughed, whole-hearted-ly so, as she leaned in to press her nose against my own. "You say that as though such a thing is within the realm of possibility. Whether you remain human or not, I am unable to leave you," she hummed. Her voice was so heady, so warm and raspy, that everything from my waist to my toes lost all modicum of strength. Her breath was intoxicating, and I felt myself lean in toward her lips of their own accord. Unfortunately, she pressed her hand to my shoulder and stopped my lips from meeting her perfect mouth.

"Marry me, Bella," Her bewitching voice and roused eyes tempted me. I gazed at her half-liddedly; transfixed from her mesmerism.

"No," I whispered back, pressing against the hand on my shoulder until she leaned in to close the short distance. After what felt like hours, our lips finally met, and the soft velvet caress of her mouth enthralled me. Just a taste wasn't enough, and I forgot about the Styrofoam balancing on my lap as I leaned into her.

A sound that _haunted me_ burgeoned forth from my lungs, beckoning my flesh to blush everywhere at once as she nibbled on my lower lip. It made no sense – how she could barely touch me and affect me so much. Cold fingers ran through my hair; my tongue tethered on the verge of caressing her lip…and in that one second of tasting her she withdrew out of my reach.

Both of us were still panting as she curled into a ball against the driver's side window. Her beautiful eyes swollen to a nearly blackened state from – what I could only assume – was hunger. One hand outstretched toward me as she struggled to hold her breath. I knew without saying so that I had tried to do too much; but, I couldn't have stopped myself if I wanted to. Knowing she didn't need air to live, her panting state confused me. However, watching her suffer in trying to restrain herself was too much for my heart to bear.

"I'm sorry, Edythe," The whisper escaped me as I panted, far too self-conscious of how electrified my body had become.

"Tis hardly your fault, dearest," she insisted in that deliriously rousing rasp before the beast roared to life, and Edythe set the truck in drive again. My heart tremored as an earthquake as she puttered my Beast down the road and turned into Charlie's driveway beside the Cruiser. A weary, sinful, half-smirk set to me as she finally turned off the loud motor that I hadn't been paying any attention to.

"It's not hard to spur me on, then," I mumbled as the truck groaned into silence. Surely it was time to get out of the truck now, and so I looked around for the Styrofoam that had nearly tumbled out of my lap during the kiss. Sure enough, it was on the bench between Edythe and I – her advanced senses must have saved the remnants of my steak and potato. My fingers held onto the Styrofoam case, wondering when Edythe could have carved her initials into the Styrofoam beside my own. Much less with a little heart in the middle that made my mouth curl into a smile. The penmanship of the cursive letters were far too fine to have been my own.

Opening the passenger door, I was about to step out when I realized Edythe hadn't moved from the driver's seat. Confused, I closed the door almost all the way and turned to face her. "Are you coming inside?"

Concern crippled her face. "If I go in with you now, after spending all day with you already, your father shall certainly become irritated with me."

Desperation surged through me, and I felt my face stretch into a frown. "I don't want you to go."

She turned to me, her glorious hair sprawling beside her face. "Nor do I, but it would be rather imprudent of me to sneak in through the window."

The sheer idea of Edythe sneaking in through my window thrilled me. "I don't care. Sneak up and I'll join you soon."

Her hand outstretched to take my own; interweaving our fingers together before I could turn to leave the truck. "Tis hardly that simple, Bella. If I go upstairs with you, and we share a bed together..." My entire body burned from the unchaste images that flickered through my mind that echoed forth at the word 'bed'.

"Yeah?" My lip throbbed from how strongly I bit down on it.

Edythe kept staring at me with those scolding, snake-like, slits. "If anything happened to you because I could not _contain_ myself."

My hand squeezed her own so tightly that my joints hurt. The fear of her leaving throbbing everywhere inside me. "You should give yourself more credit than that," I chided, blinking too many times just from how mind-boggling her comment was. "I think if we tried to – _do that –_ whether it's tonight _" –_ Edythe's eyes widened with such intensity of horror that I stuttered – "orrr _another_ night-"

"No," she insisted, and I don't know why her demanding tone infuriated me so much. "We can't do that."

 _Can't_. The word destroyed me in ways I couldn't fathom. My breath sucked out from my lungs from the unrelenting blow her rejection had gouged.

"A-aside for the risk of death, why couldn't we _someday?"_

I watched her bite down hardly on her tongue, and for a second I feared that she might bite the damn thing off as she had earlier with her fingers. Listening for that sickening snap of rock being broken, it didn't happen; but, my heart raced torrentially as I studied her. It didn't matter how stupid or ridiculous I looked right now, whining like a spoiled child – why didn't she want to try?

Edythe didn't answer, even with the anguish overtaking her perfect face. Perhaps it truly took her pleading, gold, eyes seeing the tears welling up and falling down my face for her to break her silence.

"We're not married," She finally explained – as though that made – any – sense at all. If I was blinking too much before, my eyelids could have taken flight right now. The anger that swallowed me whole overshadowed the pain of her rejection.

"Seriously?!" My eyelids might as well have been on fire as I exhaled a hoarse, groaned, breath of exasperation. "Is that really the _only reason_ you can come up with?! I don't care about that! It's not like God – or anyone else – is going to begrudge us for _being together._ " Ugh, my final words warbled into a thick, unseemly, sob.

"Oh?" Edythe seemed to challenge. "And what about what _I_ need, Bella?" She hissed, keeping her distance from me by pressing her back into the driver's side door as far away from me as humanly possible. "You have made it _poignantly_ clear that you don't want to marry me, and yet you expect me to surrender what little virtue I possess with no _promise_ of commitment made to me?"

"What, giving my humanity isn't enough of a promise for you?" I demanded, watching her hold up her hands when I started to scoot closer to her.

"No," the word flooded out from her lips so swiftly that all warmth drained from my body. " _You_ are the one who wants to surrender _their soul_ to become what I am."

Stunned, I froze. The wrath still seethed inside me; but, it was cold and lifeless. The way one must feel when they stumble overboard and fall into the Ocean. Icy air surrounded me, puncturing my lungs, my flesh, until I felt numb all over. She rendered me mute, speechless, with my mouth disjointedly parted.

"S-So I can be with you, _forever,_ " My voice rang out, hollow and broken. I begged her to understand with everything I had – my suffocated heart having morphed my wrath into another emotion altogether. My hands reached for her and found nothing. She had opened the car door and scooted out long before I could get close enough to touch her.

"Your father is waiting for you, he heard us pull up," Edythe mentioned, her hand looming on the Driver's side door of the Beast to keep holding the door open for me. Her eyes facing away from me, out toward the woods, as though she couldn't stomach to look at me any longer.

For a second I glanced at the porch, and maybe I was being selfish; Cruel and unrepentant by putting my desires above my family. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop myself, she was more important and I dismounted the car to walk toward her. A wailing, bleeding, wound ravaged through my chest as she walked off the moment my arms reached out for her.

"Edythe, _please_ meet me _upstairs_ ," I knew it was a stupid thing to ask for now, even so, I couldn't stop myself. "I'll b-behave myself, I _promise_."

"No," She answered with too eerie a stillness to her voice.

"P-Please, Edythe. I won't push for _that_ again. I promise, I can control myself."

She kept her back toward me, even as it sank from my words. "Not tonight. I need to check on my family."

"Edythe, _wait,_ " I pleaded, forgetting all about the stupid Styrofoam container as I closed the door of the Beast and walked after her toward the woods. She could have broken into her unearthly run at any time, and I had to hope that she didn't really want to go, or she would have already left me.

"Yes?" She paused, but her shoulders remained lifelessly still. Her voice still dry and cold to me.

"Marry me," the words tumbled out of my mouth.

"No."

" _Please,_ Edythe," tears stung my eyes, and still she didn't face me.

"No," she spoke as one being sent to the gallows. When I moved past her, translucent shimmering fluid had fallen down her face. "I will not _coerce you_ ," she snapped venomously, and I knew from the water in her voice that she was cruel in an attempt to mask the agony I had caused her.

I couldn't bear it. Her butchered voice was too much for me to bear, and I sank to my knees on the drenched, muddy, ground without a second thought.

" _Marry_ me, Edythe Cullen, I want to be with you forever."


	22. Chapter Twenty-One - Solace

_This chapter was going to be twice as long as this one; but, here seemed a good place for it to pause. Such a long and eventful day for Bella! Goodness, I can't believe this all happened to them - silly as it is for the author to say. I may re-read this, find some errors, and fix them. I finished this chapter here in the late of the wee-early morning, so, if you happen to notice any goofs, feel free to send me a message/PM about them._

 _x_

 _To reassure those of you who are hoping for more 'action', I.E - danger and adventure - there is danger coming. I cannot pin my foot down on when or where the danger will strike; though, likely it shall occur when we least expect it. For the moment, rejoice in the mushy goodness I driveled forth for you. Some elements from the movie were lovingly penned into this chapter, which I enjoyed writing and I hope you guys enjoy. Clearly a woman is guiding this story, as there is altogether too much talking going on for one's own good. 'chuckle'._

 _x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

* * *

"Hey? Hey – hey! Hey!" Charlie's voice echoed behind me on the staircase, his heavy feet pounding to the same neurotic beat as my heart. "Bella, what's going on?"

"Nothing – I don't want to talk about it!" My wet shoes sloshed on the stairs as I moved. Mud coated the bottom of my sneakers, as well as my knees and calves. It was no doubt that I looked like a harried mess – of course Charlie would have freaked out the moment he saw me looking filthy and mangled. The fact that my face was red and splotchy only made me look more like a zombie as I trunched upstairs.

Closing the door in his face, without meaning to really, I could barely see the furniture in my room anymore. My eyes were so irritated from the entire day welling them out. It was a wonder I had any water in me for tears left at this point, and here I was, wasting precious hydration trying to produce more.

There were three quiet raps on the door, and believe me, I wished I had the courage to open it.

"Bella, what's going on?" He repeated, worry dousing his tone as he stayed outside the door. "Did she hurt you?"

"No," the word burned in my throat, vision blurry as I tried to move my hands to rid myself of the sticky, gross, jeans that were stuck to my legs. Please, if there was a God, do not let my father walk in.

"Did you..." – he struggled for words – "break up, or something?"

"I don't know, Dad," God, my voice was warbling again – only this time I was so parched that my voice came out withered and crusty. "I don't know."

There was a sigh outside the door, of confusion more than irritation. "I thought you, er, _liked_ each other?"

A dry, dull, sob broke from my chest – agonizing through my lungs as though someone had lit a match inside me and held the candle too close to my skin. "I – I do, I do..." It hurt so badly to talk, I couldn't bear it. "P- _please_ , Dad, c-can you just leave me alone?"

Silence met my words outside the door. I wasn't wholly certain whether or not he had even walked away, or still stood there with a dumbfounded look splashed over his mustached face. Focusing on myself, for now, the shoes, socks, pants – everything – was off and tossed in the laundry basket. Everything but Edythe's necklace and my underwear, the cleanest things on me right now. My fingers throbbed; but, I couldn't stop clutching the shark-tooth necklace in my hand. The pain reminded me that the necklace, and its previous owner, were still real. A tangible thing I could touch, feel, and hold close to me.

"Bella, if she hurt you" – there was another thick sigh behind my bedroom door – "if she hurt you, in any way..."

Not thinking about it, especially with dry gobs of crusty fluid stuck to my cheeks, I grabbed whatever happened to be nearby – a textbook on something – and threw it at my door. It smacked against the wood with a loud enough thump for me to feel like I made myself clear to him.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted with all the strength my wavering voice could muster. My pitiful voice was so gnarled that I scarcely muttered the words without shrieking like a startled bird!

Crawling in a heap onto my quilted bedspread, I wrapped the blanket around me and outstretched my hand toward my pillows. Hurriedly searching underneath it until my fingers found, by touch alone, Edythe's beige jacket that she had given me. Gosh, it felt like weeks ago, now, and here I was cuddling it like a security blanket. Burying my face in her weak, lingering, scent as though that could summon her back to me.

There was another sigh outside the door, nay – a baited breath – before I heard footsteps walk back down the stairs. No longer in terror of Charlie walking in on me in my underwear, I wiped my face on Edythe's hoody and looked for something I could pull over myself for pajamas. A large black t-shirt and some loose, gray, sweatpants would have to do. Who really cared about what I looked like right now?

God, I missed my mom. Harebrained as she was – she had been through this mess at least two hundred times in my shorter life. She'd certainly know what to do in this situation. God, I hadn't e-mailed her in so long – she must be bouncing off the walls waiting to hear from me.

Thirsty and broken-hearted, I left Edythe's hoody on my pillow and trudged across the floor toward my computer desk. Turning it on, there was nothing left to do but wait.

Alone with my thoughts…

My mind returned to that moment on the ground, knee-deep in mud, my fingers relentlessly pawing against Edythe's clothing. Particularly Alice's too-small navy and white baseball jacket that Edythe had borrowed from her.

Her hands caught my own, and for a moment I thought Edythe might have reconsidered her answer. Her hands only held over my own long enough to tug them free from Alice's jacket.

"No."

The word might haunt me forever. Ringing over and over in my head – as though I had been a naughty child who couldn't come to terms with the truth. Sure, any child has had that moment in a store when they wanted to take something beautiful home, and their mom or dad said they couldn't? That stern, sharp, 'No' that brought on tears.

Well, this was no ravings of a spoiled child – even if deep down it felt that way. I couldn't understand why the idea of being away from Edythe was so unbearable for me. The dread from earlier, when Charlie found us, was still sewn to me like Peter Pan's shadow. There was no logical reason for me to feel so distraught. I had to be addicted to her scent, drugged, or even just sad and pathetic. Edythe wasn't leaving me, she wasn't! She couldn't! She wouldn't do that to me!

Her fingers tugged my own from Alice's coat. She helped me stand, then let me go.

"Bella, I think we need some time to ourselves," Edythe began, her perfect artist's hands sliding into those wet, stupid, baseball pants. Pants I hoped I never saw again for the rest of my life just from the memories attached to them.

"W-what do you mean?" My voice had begged in a raspy croak. The question berating me again and again as I sat here waiting for my computer to finish loading.

"We aught to take some time to ourselves," my heart froze, I lost the ability to breathe. Her voice was as broken as mine was, only exquisitely soft; Violin strings harmonious in agony. "Consider the weight of our decisions, and determine if we can _both_ live with our choices."

"W-wait," I rasped, to no avail.

She left me standing there, astonished and undone by woe. Reeling in the weight of her absence without one hint of a direction in which to follow. Lightning flickered far away, and yet only leaves and muck were revealed in the burst of light. I couldn't believe she was gone, that she had wooshed away with her vampire legs and left me there.

Even now, I had to believe that she didn't say 'goodbye' because she wasn't really leaving me. I would see her at school tomorrow – we could talk then. We would be together in the morning, she wouldn't leave Forks without telling me. The idea of her leaving, running up to Canada again, another week without her beside me – my fingers shook at the thought. Once the thought was lodged in my brain; however, the fear took hold and I couldn't breathe again. An entire week without her – not knowing where she was – unable to chase her in this pathetic, human, body.

Edythe had sounded so heartbroken to leave me, why would she sound so devastated if she was only leaving for the evening? My hopes didn't add up – she had to be leaving for a longer time. A week, or worse, indefinitely. What if she left and didn't come back for six months? What if she never came back for me?

There was no way in the world that Edythe would ever leave me for so long after everything she had said and done for me tonight; but, there was no escaping it. She left me here with no promise of coming back or when to expect her return. Her absence tortured me, and it was in that disheveled state that I stormed weakly into the house and threw my father into a frenzied tizzy…

Now, several minutes after hitting the 'power' button, my weak computer finally wheezed through the dust to log into the internet. The dial-up sounds were irritating enough to distract me from replaying Edythe's last words over and over in my head. At least for a moment. When I finally logged into my email, there were three, bold, unread messages from my mother. I didn't open them, it would be too easy to guess the worried drivel she'd send, and I had real questions to ask her right now.

If only I could will myself to write…

'Hey Mom,

I'm sorry I haven't written in a few days. I'm still alive, nothing bad's happened, please stop worrying about me. Charlie's fine, too, for the most part. There's something I need to tell you, and I would rather you hear about it from me, than from Dad.'

My fingers paused there, to take in several deep breaths before I continued writing.

'I would rather you hear about it from me than from Dad. I've decided to stay in Forks, and before you ask, no it's not because of a boy. Forks is…growing on me. Yeah, there is someone that has something to do with that, and I didn't know how to come to terms with it myself, much less know how to talk about it with you. Sorry you had to find out this way.'

Wow, that sounded lame. My eyes bulged; shaking my head at myself as I read over the paragraph and hit 'enter' a time or two. There were a lot of questions my mom tended to sporadically ask, and it would be easier to get them all out here if I could.

'I have a girlfriend. Her name is Edythe Cullen, and we met in Biology. She's really smart, and she plays the piano really well. So I guess you could say she's a nerd, but she doesn't act that way. She likes baseball more than Charlie does. But she's not a jock. I can't narrow her down like that, anyway. She's complex and amazing and I think you'd really love her. Kind of hoping you can meet her sometime.'

Clearly not eloquent tonight, much less with my mother in e-mails, I sighed as I reread my message and continued onward. Charlie would inevitably call her sometime in the future – Alice had already eluded to that in the parking lot. Hopefully she saw this e-mail first; but, I had a sinking feeling she wouldn't.

'I love you, Mom.

PS: I have a lot of things I want to ask you about, but nothing that can't wait til we have a call. Everything's fine, I've just been busy. Don't freak out, okay? - Bella.'

Just as I hit 'send' on the e-mail, I heard Charlie's familiar footsteps thumping up the stairs. Unable to turn in my chair in time, thankfully he just knocked gently on the door instead of bursting inside.

"Bells?" With a quiet squeak, the door poked open a few inches. There was no escaping this now, he was here and he wanted to talk. Standing up from the desk chair, I walked toward the door to apologize to my dad, when his hand slipped in through the crack in the door. The house phone hung precariously in his grip.

"Uhm, talk," he started, awkwardly clearing his throat. "to your mom."

Great.

Taking the phone from Charlie's hand, the door gently closed and I sighed to myself before I pressed it up against my face.

"Mom?"

"Bella?" Her panicked voice squawked into my ear so loudly that I had to move it away from my head for a second. "Bella, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah mom, I'm fine," Oof, what a poor excuse for a white lie. Which might have been believable if my voice didn't sound like sandpaper. "Sorry to wake you up."

Opening the door, I couldn't see Charlie; but, the bathroom door was closed. If I was going to talk to my mom, then I needed a cup of water. Carefully walking down the stairs, I listened as my mother worriedly prattled on and on in my ear.

"You didn't wake me up. Phil and I were on the couch watching movies," why did I get the feeling there wasn't any movies involved? My body involuntarily shuddered with revulsion at the thought. Thankfully not enough to trip me half-way down the stairs.

"So, your father tells me you have some big news for me?" The eagerness in her tone tied my stomach into knots. "and you came in the house crying, honey?"

In the kitchen now, I opened the cabinet for a cup and filled it. Drinking it down hurriedly before I could say anything. No sense lying to my mom, she could always see right through me whenever it mattered.

"Yeah, I..." Pouring myself another cup of water, I cleared my throat and drank the second cup down before I could speak again. Ahh, my throat no longer itched when I talked. "I sent you an e-mail about it."

"You did, sweetie?" She sounded genuinely concerned, and given the background noise, she must have made a nose-dive for her computer.

"Yeah, I just sent it when you called. Sorry for the slow replies, I had a sleepover with some friends yesterday night."

"A sleepover? That's wonderful!. "I knew she meant it; but, her tone was more worried than joyous of me having actual friends. "But, what's going on? I can tell something's wrong."

"It's…complicated," I said with a hollow laugh. She had – no – idea how complicated this was.

"You can tell me, honey," she insisted, her voice as soft as hummingbird wings.

Charlie walked down the stairs then, watching me anxiously with his big, sad, brown eyes. It was difficult to see his face and not be rendered mute from guilt. "Sure mom, just give me a minute."

"Okay, sweetie," I heard vaguely as I set the phone at my side. Moving toward my father to try and wrap my arms tightly around him. Hugs made both of us uncomfortable; but, I didn't know what else to do to reassure him.

"I'm sorry, Dad," The words bumbled out of me; but, I truly meant them. He wrapped his arms around me back, patting my back as affectionately as the awkward fellow could.

"It's okay, Bells," He commented as the hug fell apart. "We can talk later," he mentioned with a knowing nod. I nodded back, the pair of us fully aware that if mom didn't get her answers she would go haywire.

"Okay," I whispered the promise before heading back upstairs. Great, there was mud on my feet. I could grimace more about that later. Only when I was back in my room with the door closed did I put the phone back against my ear.

"Mom?"

"You have a girlfriend?!" She must have used my absence to read the e-mail. "When did this happen?! Was it at first sight? Are you two, okay? Is anyone making fun of you?" The cork popped off, and she wouldn't quiet down enough for me to get a word in edgewise. "Just you listen - don't let anyone get to you, okay?"

"M-" I really tried to interject; but, she was a train that would not stop going.

"There are always going to be creeps out there who like to tear people down for being different. Is that what happened tonight?"

"N-No, mom," A sigh escaped my lips, resigned to just wait til she ran out of breath.

"Was someone mean to you? You can always call me if anyone threatens you or…" She paused, a moment, as though struggling to read my e-mail. "Ee-DYEthhhh."

"Its Edith, mom," I corrected with a little snort. She made my girlfriend sound like an ominous dice game.

"Edythe," she said apologetically, the sound of Phil's voice was bubbling in the background; but, I couldn't hear him clearly enough to know what he said.

"Phil, go to bed! I'll be up in a few minutes!" God my ear! I had to hold the phone away from my head again. "Bella? Bella, are you still here?" Perhaps I should be grateful that I didn't inherit her ability to talk like a Gilmore Girl.

"Yeah, I'm here mom," I said with a mild chuckle. "No, no one was mean to us. We only just started going out," I lied, but blubbered to correct myself. "Officially, I mean."

"Wow, I'm so happy you found someone, Baby," she said with so much enthusiasm that my eyebrows knit together. Did she think I'd die a spinster, or something?

"Um. Thanks, mom," Swallowing the fluid in my mouth, I wiped my feet on some old clothes and laid down over my quilt.

"You had some questions for me, honey?" She asked, clearly re-reading my messy e-mail. Gosh, how does one even ask these things?

"Um, yeah," I started. "Mom I…"

"Yeah, honey?" The excitement in her voice could have powered Phoenix, and still, I had a hard time trying to get my mind in order – much less say what was worrying me.

"Mom, how did you know Phil was 'the one'?"

I'd done the impossible – my mom was completely silent on the other end of the line for several seconds.

"Well, I don't think it works _quite_ that way, honey," she mentioned, as though to disclaimer herself. "Phil and I have shared interests, we make each other happy, and we have a lot of core values. Something I didn't really think about with your father. We were a wild mess, you know, but just because it doesn't work out doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue someone with your whole heart while you have them."

 _While you have them._ Her words gave me a lot to think about. I knew there were a lot of things my mom and Charlie didn't agree on; but, surely there had to have been enough of a foundation for love to grow to want to get married to him. I had to know, even though it was a hard subject for her, I was sure.

"Does that answer your question, honey?" She asked with trepidation, I must have been quiet for a while.

"Kind of. I…I guess I'm trying to ask why you married Charlie? What made you think he was the one for you, then?"

An uncomfortable silence stretched on before I heard her mutter: "Phil – you better just go to sleep." Mom cleared her throat, several times, and I heard noises in the background as though she was moving or doing something. "We were _very_ inexperienced, Bella. We didn't know what we wanted out of life, and I think we both thought that we could both handle whatever the future held for us together."

"So, was it…me? That made you -" I couldn't bring myself to say the word _Divorce._

"No!" The gasp on the other end almost physically wounded my ear. "No, honey! I just couldn't bear to be stuck in one place forever. You know me, always up in the air. Your father is…well, he's a very _grounded_ man. He saw us growing _old_ in that house. I knew that leaving Forks would make him unhappy and staying there without friends or family turned me into a…very _nasty_ person. His entire _life_ was there…and I think, deep down, I had assumed that he would have built the world around _me_ instead of trying so hard to fit me into the life he had in Forks. It was very selfish, you know, on both of us."

It was hard to hear some of what mom said, even though she had eluded to it on more than one occasion since I was a little thing. Curious as I was, Charlie never talked about mom and their past. But, then, I rarely ever asked him to share. Unfortunately, her reply only rose more questions. One of which I had to ask right now.

"If you could do it all over again, mom, what would you have done differently?"

"Honey, I think if I was zapped back in time, I'd have done the exact same, stupid, things I did. I was young and in love," she said with a laugh. "But" – she paused, exhaling softly – "sometimes you don't know what you _need_ until you've experienced the things you _don't_ _."_

"I _love_ you, Mom, but, you've had a _lot_ of _don'ts,"_ I joked to keep the tone of our conversation more breezy. Maybe because her words had come too close to smacking into a vulnerable spot.

"Pfft, you little stinker," Mom chided with her hundred-watt smile. I could hear the grin in her tone, and for a second the stress of the day melted away. "You're not _wrong_ , though." She laughed again, I laughed with her, and when the moment passed I took advantage of the somber tone.

"So, if I'm hearing you correctly…you'd get married to Charlie all over again?"

Mom paused on the other end of the line. Her breathing was soft and steady. "Honey, why do you keep asking me about this? Is there some _reason_ you want to know all of this right now?" Worry clung to her voice, the same worry that I had hoped to have been evaporated.

She caught me right on the nose and my mouth tugged down into a cringe. "Edythe is um, pretty old fashioned. She doesn't believe in sex before marriage – w-with anybody."

I could feel the concern seep out through the mouthpiece – the entire continent of North America between us didn't stop the anxiety she felt from pouring out to me. "Is she pressuring you to get married?"

"N-no, she wouldn't do that." Swallowing the hard knot in my stomach, I instantly regret not bringing more water upstairs with me as I inhaled so strongly my nose hurt. "But she – does – want to get married _someday_ , and she hopes that after we get to know each other, that" – why was my throat so dry, again? – "that, that person m-might be me." God, could I have become anymore spastic? I think my words stuttered as badly as my eyelids blinked. At least no one was around to see the catastrophe I had melted into right now. "Sh-she would want to _p-propose_ , after high school, if things go that way."

Terrified of my mother's answer, even with the knowledge that whatever her approval or disapproval was it would be in gentle tones, I waited. Waited for an eternity, because I practically counted to one hundred and she still didn't answer me. Had muted the phone and she was talking to Phil? No, that didn't make sense, I could still hear her gentle breathing. My stomach lurched at this impossible wait, and yet, I was too chicken to break the silence by saying anything.

"Bella, what is it that _you_ want to do?" Her voice was soft and warm; blooming rosebuds in the sun.

"I'd never given much thought to if I got married. Much less to another girl," I confessed easily and honestly, and it freed me to be so open again.

"Do you think you might want to get married to her someday?"

"I don't know, Mom," I paused, to wet my lips. "Marriage has always seemed like years of pain and heartbreak that ends in a giant mess," I confessed, too openly, and the lashes of the damage I had caused struck my chest. Rubbing old wounds in alcohol seemed to be what I was good for tonight. Remorse subdued me, but there was no way I could take what Id said back. "I don't want Edythe and I to end, and marriage feels like an end."

Even without her speaking, I knew that my words had hurt. I could feel the scimitar slash into her soul and backwards into mine. I couldn't hurt my mother without hurting myself, and the same went for Charlie. Barely able to hear any background noise besides her breathing, when her breathing stopped, I knew it was because she was holding her hand over her mouth. No doubt trying desperately not to cry, as I'd inherited the overactive tear ducts from her.

"I-is that what you believe, honey? Do you think Phil and I are going to end?" Somehow, when she least expected it, my mom had a way of unconsciously turning a situation back toward herself. She'd done very well to keep the subject on me until now; but, I feared there would be little chance of getting a word in edgewise now. Not to the questions I needed to hear – the rest of this call was to console her. So, I inhaled a deep breath, and started to it.

"I don't know, Mom. That's really not up to me to say. You're happy now; I hope you stay happy with Phil," The wound continued to bleed, cold pumping throbs pulsing from my heart. "I always want you happy, mom."

A muffled, wet, sob scattered through the mouthpiece before I heard her smile again. "I know, baby. I know," she reassured me, and I wished more than anything in the world that I could hug her. "But, you know, no one person is going to make or keep you happy. That isn't their job, and it isn't your job, either. We all get" – another sob sniffled from her nose – "hurt and melancholy, and the only person that can make you happy is yourself," I could hear paper or Kleenex rub against the mouthpiece – probably because she kept her face right next to the phone as she blew her nose. "If she proposes someday, and you feel it's the right choice _for you_ , then it's the right choice."

Frozen as her words ruminated through me, my mouth opened; but, whatever it was I planned to stay was lost to me when my mother laughed. Chortling with her vibrant giggle that left no shadow of a doubt that my mom was alright. I hadn't wounded her gravely; she was flying again. My soul flew with her, and unconsciously I realized that my left hand had been clutching Edythe's hoody to me. In the time since laying on the bed and talking to my mother, it had been dragged to drape over my stomach protectively. Her laugh, so beautiful and human, had rendered me unable to speak. However, I had a sinking feeling that she was laughing about _me_.

"What?" The curiosity gnawed at me, and I found myself hunching over into a ball atop my bed to better hear her. "What's so funny?"

"Oh" – she giggled – "it's nothing, _really,_ " she protested; but, we both knew she was a terrible liar. "Just…you've always known what you wanted, Bella. Even when you were a little girl you've known what you wanted." She giggled again, and though her voice wavered with damp emotion, her tears seemed happy more than anything else. "Are you worried that I'll think less of you if you get married young, like I did?"

Unable to deny the truth of her words, it was easier to say nothing as I considered all that my mom had said. It irked me to be teased, even when my mom was the culprit. However, it irked me a little less tonight. Impossible woman, never able to see two inches past her nose, except when it came to moments like this. What was I going to do when she was gone from my life?

"N-no," I lied, unaware that I had even been dishonest until I'd said the word. "Okay," I sighed under my breath. "Maybe a little."

A loud snort bubbled out of the mouthpiece. "My silly Bella," she sighed playfully at my expense, and my heartstrings were plucked. After having them perform so many tunes tonight, the need to change the subject overtook me.

"So, um. How _are_ you and Phil, mom?"

"We're great, sweetie," she almost sang breathlessly from the glow of happiness that sprung up from inside her. Reassured in every way that leaving for Forks was the right choice, a smile too big to make without prickling tugged at my face. My face felt warm, for the best of reasons. "We're _wonderful_ , although, I think Phil's going to be a bit sad that you won't be joining us in Jacksonville."

A wry smile curled onto my lip, a breathy laugh hotly puffing from my mouth. "You know? Me too. But, I plan on visiting soon. Whenever you guys have room for me."

My mother joyously grinned, dare I say it, I think she danced. "Of course, baby. I miss you so much."

"I miss you, too, Mom." My face couldn't stop smiling. A peace that passed all understanding drenched through me. If my Mom and Charlie still loved and supported me, then I had nothing to worry about going forward. When I left, they'd know I chased a full and satisfying life. My getting married, well, maybe Edythe was right – it would be something my family would treasure. Especially when I was gone…

"Anyway, it's getting late, and I have school tomorrow," I explained, tugging the beige hoody so that the sleeves made a 'hug' or 'heart' shape on my lap.

"Oh, shoot! You're right, honey," she said with a laugh. "I forgot it was Sunday night," she hummed to herself in a tune I didn't recognize. "Alright, you get some sleep and answer my e-mail tomorrow?"

She's replied to my e-mail? When had she had the time to do that? Somehow I had a feeling there were going to be four paragraphs waiting for me when I got home from school tomorrow. Best to brace myself for it now, I sighed to myself. "Yeah, mom. I'll write back when I can. I'll tell Charlie you said 'hi'," I added, knowing she'd want me to without her needing to ask.

"Okay, Bella, I'll talk to you soon," she promised me, whispering as though to not wake Phil up if he'd fallen asleep. Thinking that was the best place to stop, I clicked the button on the cordless phone to end the call. Glancing at the door with worry spreading everywhere at once.

Just when I raised one foot off of the bed to get up, the phone rang again. The sound was so sudden that I clutched my heart in panic as I answered it.

"What is it, mom?" I demanded, as playfully as possible.

"A-hem," the impish voice was clearly _not_ my mother.

"H-hey, Alice, sorry about that," I cleared my throat, setting my leg back down on the bed since I wasn't moving yet.

"You're fine, Bella," she chimed jubilantly. "It was rather cute, really. No one's mistaken me for their mother before."

"N-no, I guess not." I really tried not to laugh, but Alice being the shortest Cullen of the Clan, I could only guess how often people had assumed she was prepubescent in her life. It wasn't funny; but, still, my face burned to keep the snort inside my mouth.

She huffed at me in exasperation. "Oh, stop that, there are plenty of mothers in the world who are _shorter_ than I am," she commented, and I almost swore I could feel her pixie hair shaking through the phone. "At any rate, I wanted to check up on you…"

"Um, thanks, Alice," I began, biting down on my lip in an anxious fidget. "I'm doing better now." Didn't she already know that? Or were her 'seer' abilities limited tonight?

"…And let you know we won't be at school tomorrow."

"You won't?" My heart thrummed with mild panic at the thought of not seeing Edythe at school tomorrow.

"No, our _guests_ haven't left yet. I'm not sure if James and Victoria are leaving with Laurent tomorrow or not," she explained, and I had a feeling she was being careful with her words – as though she was being watched. Was Edythe beside her? Or was it the company at their house she was wary of?

"Are these guests of yours, um, animal-tarians?" Wow, that was lame.

Alice giggled. "No, though, Laurent is certainly considering the conversion," unconsciously I stood; pacing back and forth beside my bed while Alice continued on. "He's going to see our 'cousins' the Denali's, up in Alaska. It's easier there, less people than Forks to be tempted by."

"That sounds like a good thing," I enthused. My mind still drawn to that nagging question of whether or not my Edythe was listening in on this conversation. "Is, um, Edythe with you?"

"No, but I can fetch her. She's practicing in her room..." Alice mentioned, as though that was unusual behavior for her sister. Was there a piano in Edythe's room? I couldn't remember; but, I imagine she could probably carry anything into her room without much trouble if she wanted to.

"Can you?" I couldn't help myself from the subtle beg. What if Edythe refused my call? I had to know if she was still mad at me, or I'd never sleep. At least I knew she was still in Forks, and my heart could beat a little less sporadically.

"Sure, give me a sec," Alice mentioned as though it would literally only take a second. However, over a minute passed where I heard next to nothing from the phone. Was it muted? Did Edythe not want to talk to me? Did she just have her music playing too loud? When I began to hear sound, I could have sworn I heard a hiss; but, it was Alice's dry tone that made me the most uncomfortable.

"Here she is, Bella," Alice mentioned before I heard another voice. One that should have filled me with joy; but, Edythe sounded too irritated for me to not be stung by the unexpected sharpness.

"Yes?"

The lump in my throat returned, and I sank down slowly onto my bed. All strength sapped from my ankles at the almost callous tone she'd used. "H-Hey. Can we talk?"

"It's awfully late for you," Edythe commented, almost scolding me.

"I don't care." My fingers unconsciously clutched the beige sweater tighter in my hand. Bunched up into such a wound ball that my joints began to sting. "Are you okay?"

Edythe didn't say anything for a few moments; my mind's eye flickered with images of her hands drawn into those familiar tomboyish fists. "I'm fine, Bella," she began coldly, though her voice considerably softened as she continued on. "Are you?"

"I miss you, besides that I'm okay."

"I miss you, too, dearest," relief washed over me as she spoke with the soft, loving, tone of voice that I had grown accustomed to. "It pains me to be away from you tomorrow."

"It pains me, too," my eyes closed, resting in the hope that I might absorb the sound of her voice to hold me over until after school. "When will I see you again?"

"As soon as I am at liberty to do so," Edythe promised me, and for a moment I could almost imagine her smell. Which perhaps had something to do with unconsciously pressing my face into her old beige hoody – which I realized with enough embarrassment to blush and put the hoody back on my pillow. "For now, my beloved, I entreat you to retire for the evening."

"W-will you call me tomorrow?" The thought of hanging up the phone wounded me as it was, the notion of not hearing from her again was too troubling for me to cope. My lip throbbed from how hard I must have bitten down upon it.

"If I have not returned to your arms beforehand," Edythe's voice sang to my spirit, and soothed, the weight of the day exhausted me into a heavy slab over my quilt.

"T-tomorrow then," I whispered, more to myself than her. I knew this was the moment to click 'end' on the house phone; but, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Tomorrow, Bella," Edythe soothed, only to begin quietly singing a melody that was vaguely familiar to me. Something she had sung before when we in the meadow together. Not recognizing the song, my ears blindly rejoiced in her tones. Absorbing each note that strummed sweetly as guitar strings. Who knew how long Edythe sang for me. In my last moments of consciousness, her voice as soft as summer rain drew me further and further into ease. Carried away through her musical voice until the night faded away as stars behind the sunlight.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two - Rose

I've decided to answer reviews up here, to not miss out on getting my thoughts to you in a somewhat orderly fashion, haha.

To begin, _I'm glad someone else looked at the name 'Edythe' with a scrutinizing eye - from how it's spelled it doesn't look like it would be pronounced Edith. In fact, I thought the name was rather ridiculous when I first read it; but, it's grown on me to the point where 'Edith' just looks wrong and boring._

Dear Whovian,

 _I adore your reviews, and your thoughts to elaborate on them in PMs. It's kind of like a more interesting version of Dr. Phil, involving people I genuinely care about discussing their lives with with thoughtful ways the story could go or how certain characters might be feeling. While the story may not go the way you or anyone else invisions it, I certainly hope not to disappoint you or my other readers with how the story evolves. I do not know where I am going beyond some similar road maps, and those could change depending on what the characters decide at the time. Which, oh dear, this must be what Alice's visions are like - its a wonder she doesn't have migraines more often, metaphorically at least. Edythe and Bella certainly need to talk, which I hope occurs in the next chapter; but, oop - not going to give anything away. Nope, nope, nope._

Thank you, Reader,

 _for pointing out my typo. I meant to write that Alice had her -fingers- on Bella's mouth, not her own mouth! While I'm not against a scenario where Alice and Bella are together, in this universe it's not going to happen. Apologies, apologies. Also, goodness, I had no idea how often Bella has snarky thoughts, but, so did the Bella in canon. I want to elaborate more on what you said, but I'll simply say that it was more Edward's reaction to James' comment of 'oo a snack' that incited his 'oh boy this is fun' alarm to go off than Bella's scent alone. I think if Edward hadn't growled at him aggressively like a lion, and just went 'hey, no, she's going to be a vampire with us', it would have been decidedly more boring for james. But then, who knows really? This is my speculation, and the james and victoria I'm writing hopefully have more brains and will become a more prominent threat. I already, unintentionally, changed where the story is heading, so right now...no, Bella isn't the target. I can't say anyone is at this point, but, again, I can't reveal it yet. You'll just have to wait._

OperaGhost,

 _they took down the story Lesbiangirl had stolen from me, and I recently uploaded chapter one to Ao3! I need to upload the rest of it, so apologies to the fans there for being busy lately... the good news is this chapter is out! Hopefully soon I can update the Ao3 copy in the next few days. As someone pointed out, I should consider myself grateful that I was good enough that someone wanted to copy me. How flattering._

 _xx_

 _Meanwhile,_ _I have an idea for how the next chapter is going to go. I apologize for how fast my story is progressing in character development. I think what I had hoped to make up for in canon turned into me putting too much character development too soon, but then I also don't regret doing so. It simply means things will become more complicated, faster, and in unexpected ways. As always, thank you for your patience everyone, I hope you enjoy the read! Comment below or PM me when you can, if you want to._

 _x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two**

* * *

When my eyes finally opened, a gray room greeted me. Incongruous green rays floated in from the window. It seemed too bright for snow, too bright for sun. Raising my hand from the bed, my fingers toyed with the familiar density. Something cold and hard pressed against the side of my head, and I turned to see the house phone buttons lifelessly staring at me. Both hands seizing the plastic corpse, I sighed to myself. It must have died in the middle of the night after I fell asleep. Something was wrong, and for the life of me I couldn't register what it was. It took me several moments of sitting there watching my window before I realized what was off.

The alarm clock read 9:52am in bright red judgmental numbers.

Half the morning had passed away, and I didn't care. Normally I'd have made a mad dash to the bathroom at such a revelation. Air sighed from my stomach as I watched those blaring letters stare at me. For the first time, in a very long time, I had no desire to go to school. Edythe wouldn't be there, so why should it matter to me? A part of me laughed at myself for how pathetic that was, though it didn't fill that void of sensibility. Thumbing my fingers over the white house phone, I felt the buttons under my fingers as I considered whether or not to just stay home.

Not getting into college was the only thing I had to worry about. If I didn't get into an appropriate college, then I wouldn't have an easy excuse to give my parents for why I would be gone so fast after high school ended. Knowing that Edythe and the Cullens needed someplace that rained a lot, I'd need to go to a school that was just as gloomy as Forks. Where would that be? Alaska? Didn't they have like a month of sunlight there? Easy enough to not go to school for one semester to avoid that. Surely Carlisle would have a great suggestion for where to go and what I could do to keep myself busy for the centuries to come. Alice had her fashion, Carlisle his medicine, and Edythe her music. How shallow of me not to know Emmett, Esme, Jasper, or Rosalie's hobbies. Although, Emmett's might be easy to guess.

What would keep me busy for eternity? What was I passionate about – besides Edythe? Most teenagers didn't know, so I couldn't feel _too_ guilty for not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. However, an eternity of time was certainly long enough to figure that out in the long term. For now, I had to get good grades so I could get into college, and to do that I had to do well in school.

With one floundering motion I escaped the tangle of my quilted cloud and rushed to get ready. By the time I got to school, there were only two periods left before lunch: Trigonometry and Spanish. The only thing that surprised me was the lack of familiar red hair when the secretary swiveled in her chair to look at me. Ms. Cope must be out of town, or sick. In her place was a woman with raven-brown locks who insisted I called her Stephanie. She seemed friendly enough; but, she had some trouble finding my name in the system to change me from 'absent' to 'tardy'. Resulting in Mr. Varner, and the whole classroom, looking up when I entered the Trigonometry classroom fifteen minutes late.

"Thank you for joining us, Ms. Swan," Mr. Varner mumbled with thinly veiled aggression for the interruption of his lecture. Spurred by the unfriendly tone, I nodded awkwardly and nearly knocked into two desks in a row during my mad dash to the back of the room. If Mr. Varner was irritated at me before, he was exasperated now. Albeit, he hid his annoyance under years of experience and a hard-pressed stare to the back of my head. Hip bone throbbing in harmony with the bruised knee from yesterday, I hobbled toward my usual table and froze in front of it.

Jessica had bird-wide eyes that seemed to grow wider the closer got to our desk. She was certainly shocked to see me, and the intensity of her look caught me off guard. A gleam of guilt overshadowing her eyes as I glanced at my seat to see that it was filled. Mike sheepishly waved from where I usually sat. Blinking incoherently from surprise, I stepped backwards to look for where Mike normally sat. It was empty and torn between making a scene or taking the empty chair, I backpedaled to sit down. Which was probably for the best, as otherwise I was going to have to play another game of forty questions with Jessica and risk being sent off to detention.

Peeking back to where Mike was sitting in my seat, he looked both bashful and apologetic as he grinned at me. Unable to see his other hand, I naturally assumed that him and Jessica must be holding their hands together under the table. A part of me wondered how they got away with that in here. However, once the teacher continued his lecture, I realized that Mr. Varner simply didn't care what happened so long as it looked like his students were taking notes.

Eric, who sat beside me now, gave me a friendly smile before he continued taking notes. Following suit, I took out a fine-point pen and notebook and spent the rest of the hour pretending I couldn't feel Jessica's gaze boring into the back of my head.

When the bell finally rang, I expected Jessica to call my name and road runner herself over to me. Preparing for it by stuffing my book into my bag as slowly as possible, a giant figure blocked me into my seat instead. Glancing up to see someone besides Jessica standing there, my eyebrows mildly furrowed together in surprise as Tyler kept standing there rigidly. A piece of paper sticking out ominously from between his fingers.

"Hey, Tyler," my eyes drifted between his dark face and the folded paper. "What's that?"

Tyler robotically swallowed. "Just read it."

There was something about that folded piece of paper that reminded me of origami fortunes. The kind where you picked a number, or a color, and it read a pre-written message of good or ill. Things children did to amuse themselves in grade school. Watching the way Tyler kept holding out the piece of paper, I had a sinking feeling that whatever fortune lay hidden in that folded note didn't bode well for me. Unable to stop myself from wanting to know, I reached out to take the note and open it. Spreading it open on the desk in front of me with both my hands on either side of it, as though that could possibly keep the contents a secret if anyone wanted to look over my shoulder.

The note was barely legible, but I could read the handwriting enough to get the jist of the message.

'Bella, I heard my mom and dad talking about you yesterday. She said that you and Edythe Cullen are a couple, is that true?'

My initial reaction might have been the most damning for me, and yet, I couldn't stop myself. Crushing the paper in my palm until it was a tiny ball, I turned my head to read Tyler's face. His expression was star-crossed between concern and repugnance. Would he be more disappointed or offended with the truth? Who was Tyler's mom, anyway? I knew his last name was Crowley, so naturally his mom or dad would have to be a Crowley, too. The name didn't help; but, there was a familiarity about his nose with someone else I knew, and the realization struck me so fast that I felt sick. Cora. His mom was Cora – Cora Crowley. She must have overheard us at the Diner last night, or saw Edythe holding my hand. The 'how' didn't matter – Tyler knew.

Tyler kept watching me in a cold stupor. The animation over his eyes looming on the precipice of something I couldn't fathom. Regardless of what his thoughts truly were, every instinct I had warned me that he already knew my answer, and he just wanted me to confirm it. Desperation to deny this filled my mind, and yet, my hand stayed balled into a fist over the note. How laughable was that? As if destroying this note could protect me anymore.

Hastily, I stood from the chair, shoving the balled up note into the bottom of my coat pocket. When Tyler didn't walk away, I leaned in close enough that I hoped no one else would hear. Not that it mattered anyway, eventually everyone would know. "Who else did you tell?"

He gagged, or swallowed, in reply. I could see it in his eyes that he had mentioned it to someone, the only question was who, and how fast they would make this news spread all over Forks. "No one, really."

Before I could protest, Jessica and Mike entered my field of vision. Mike looked as friendly and warm as he always was; but, Jess resembled a frightened doe. Unlike her usual habit of talking to me incessantly between Trig and Spanish, she shoved herself behind Tyler and pulled Mike with her in her rush to get out of the classroom. If I wasn't sure that Tyler had lied to me before, it seemed impossible to believe him now.

"You told Lauren, didn't you…" I pleaded more than asked in soft tones, softer tones than I deemed possible. A misplaced desire for vengeance spilling forth inside me.

Guilty eyes gazed into me as Tyler tipped his foot toward the door. "I'm sorry, Bella," he practically mouthed, like the mouse he was. He practically jogged away before I could even open my mouth, much less get out of my chair.

The classroom filed out around me as I freed myself from the desk. As though I didn't exist, I could feel myself still standing there estranged and overwhelmed; detached from my body. There were only two choices I could think to make about this. I could collapse on the floor like a weakling – or I could do something about it. Tackle this issue at the source before Lauren had a chance to spread any rumors about me. If I lost my school friends, it wasn't going to be because I let it happen without a fight.

Grabbing the sleeve of my book bag, I hurriedly slumped it over my shoulder in my mad dash to the door. Careful to avoid knocking my sore knee against any desks or counters on the way out.

Once outside, I squinted under the light spritz of sprinkling rain to try and find the familiar outfit of anyone I knew. Jessica and Mike were over by the door of our Spanish class, seemingly too wrapped up in being with each other to care where I was. Had her eyes not worriedly lashed out in my direction and widened when she saw me, perhaps I could have believed she didn't know. Lauren had to have told her something – who else would she have told?

With a knot in my stomach, I desperately searched for Lauren's familiar new platinum blond hair in the crowd. Haphazardly peeking between buildings, searching under covered outdoor hallways. I couldn't find her, or Tyler, anywhere. They probably ducked into their next classes already. My feet nearly beat the ground – my footsteps felt so loud beneath me. There had to be someplace Lauren went…

Wait, the bathroom. Lauren tended to wear make-up. I'd seen her brushing up her eyeliner during breaks before, maybe she was in there? With a purpose behind my fumbled rush, I stormed past the near-petrified Jessica, Mike, and the rest of Spanish Class on route to the bathroom. With my goal in view, it took some effort to narrowly dodge other girls leaving the bathroom, especially when it looked like a few of them were staring too long at me. Maybe Jessica was the only person Lauren had told or Jess was worried about something entirely different. A sliver of hope gleamed inside me – that I was overreacting. After all, Lauren didn't exactly like me; but, why would she care about Edythe and I enough to ruin our reputation? She liked Tyler, right? If she knew for sure I didn't like him, or boys – not that I'd given that matter much thought – wouldn't that be a good thing?

Why of all days couldn't Edythe be here with me today? How much more time did she need before their 'company' left? Surely she would be here with me tomorrow, I promised to myself. Despite my trembling hands, I could be strong for both of us. No – I _would_ be strong for both of us. So what if people knew? It wasn't that I feared everyone knowing I was Edythe's girlfriend, was it?

Running into the bathroom, scarcely able to breathe by the end of it, I looked at all the sinks and mirrors. None of them had a platinum blond standing in front of them, and in frustration I groaned under my breath. If she wasn't here, then I would have to try again at Lunch. Seeing my haggard appearance in the closest mirror, I ran my fingers through my hair to try and make myself presentable. To think, Edythe and I had once talked in this bathroom before. The memory stung me enough that I grimaced at myself. Nay, knowing she wouldn't be here for lunch is what really hurt me.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled and exhaled as slowly as I possibly could without fainting. I would see Edythe again tonight. She would call me today; she promised me. If I couldn't find Lauren, then I would talk to Jessica in Spanish. Hell, I could just tell the whole table at lunch.

Relieved to have a firm course of action in place, I washed my face and dried it with paper towels. The bell was going to ring and there was no sense being late to another class today. With a soft breath of peace, I turned around the corner toward the door and stopped.

"Hello, Bella," the musical tone caught me off guard.

Stunned to stillness, my eyes connected with the golden pupils my soul yearned for. No, a mockery of what I had hoped for, as they were not the eyes of my beloved. Disappointment beyond what I could endure without frowning dampened my face as I recognized that it was the only other person besides Lauren that I actively tried to avoid.

"R-Rosalie," I blubbered lamely in greeting, a little confused that she was still standing there. Looking far too perfect in a purple leather jacket, jeans, and black shirt. A giant necklace, one I found a bit too gaudy, showcased the same crest I had seen on Edythe's jewelry. Not knowing if vampires used the bathroom, and too uncomfortable with Rosalie to ask, I moved to slip past her.

"Bella, wait," Rosalie insisted, the gentleness in her voice was enough to still my feet.

"Sure, um," My throat still felt dry, standing next to someone who might forever be more beautiful than I was. "What's up?" Dismayed that I said something so stupid, I closed my eyes and pretended that I didn't say that out loud.

"I wanted to apologize for how I behaved the other night," Rosalie mentioned stoically, as though someone was standing behind her with a stick poking her in the spine over and over. Peeking around her just to be sure, in the distance I saw Emmett lurking a comfortable distance away from the girl's bathroom. When our eyes met, he waved with a ridiculously goofy grin, and I awkwardly waved back at his unhindered exuberance. When Rosalie didn't move, I turned back to look at her.

"It's okay, you had a right to be worried." I insisted, trying my best not to fumble with simple answers around a supermodel.

"No," She nearly stuttered. "I mean, yes, I do. It doesn't excuse my anger, either."

"Well, apology accepted," I started to say, only to stop when I noticed that other girls were trying to get into the bathroom. Not wanting to keep awkwardly blocking the way, the pair of us disbanded to let the other girls through the doorway. Hoping that was the end of the conversation, I started walking to Spanish, only to slow my steps when I realized that Rose was still walking beside me. "Was there something else?"

With a quiet nod Rosalie stilled herself uncomfortably, yards of wavy golden hair tousling in the breeze as she turned toward Emmett and waved him over. I could only stand by and watch as Emmett thumped himself over to us with an unsettling amount of grace for his massive size. Somehow he reminded me of a dog when he jogged. His happy smile just lacked the tongue sticking out between his lips to complete the caricature.

"Heyo, Bella," Emmett beamed. One massive fist held out between us, as though he expected me to fist-bump him or something. Swallowing the unsettling feeling of being expected to do something that required hand-eye coordination, I fumbled to bop his fist with my own in greeting. The pathetic tap seemed to spark a brighter sheen to his handsome, bear-like, face.

"Hey, Emmett. Good to see you," I replied. Truly thankful to have a buffer between myself and Rosalie.

Rose sank herself under Emmett's other arm, and for a mere moment I felt that green monster tugging at me for the second time today. Why were Rosalie and Emmett here instead of Edythe and Alice? Jealousy was a nasty color, and I tried not to be unhappy at seeing the too-perfect couple doing what came natural to them.

"Rose and I made you something," Emmett said, his tone brimming with so much pride that I thought he might burst.

"You did?" Treading between wariness and excitement at the thought of a gift, I glanced at Rosalie. She stood there as stoic and reserved as she always was, and so my eyes flicked back at Emmett. His brotherly smile much easier to absorb than Rose's hard face.

"Yeah, I put it" – Emmett began to say with gladness, only to realize that Rose was holding an expectant hand in front of him – "in your truck already..."

Rosalie narrowed her eyes just softly enough to express her annoyance as she turned back to me. Hand sliding around his waist so it wasn't continuously hanging in the air. "Well. Seems you'll get it after school, then."

"Um, thanks, Emmett. Rosalie," my voice bellowed out more enthusiasm than I felt, but, it seemed to be convincing enough to make Emmett happy. If I wasn't imagining it, Rosalie appeared to be more relaxed as well.

"It's nothing," Rosalie mentioned with far too formal a tone for me to feel comfortable with.

"See you around, Bella," Emmett cheered with a dopey grin as he turned, guiding Rosalie with him in the opposite direction as my Spanish class.

"W-wait,"my feet led me forward faster than my brain could consider whether or not this was a bad idea.

The perfect couple paused, their arms falling away to rest by their sides. Emmett tilted his head curiously, and Rosalie seemed to narrow her eyes with an irritated sort of intrigue. "Yes?"

Ice cubes could have been bobbing inside my stomach at her curtness; but, I ignored it. "Is…is everything okay? With your um, company?"

Whether they thought they were being crafty, or they just didn't need long to exchange a look, I thought I saw them glance at each other before Emmett nodded. "Everything's great, Bella. Esme and Carlisle stayed home with them today."

"They should be gone by the time school's over," Rosalie reassured in vague, methodical, tones.

"But, that's great!" Relief washed over me at the thought of seeing Edythe; and yet, there was something about the way Rosalie kept watching her boyfriend with that warning look that made me nervous. Was she mad that Emmett told me? That I asked? That their family had human-drinking vampires staying with them in the first place?

Rosalie set her glaring eyes toward me at my answer and abruptly walked away. Emmett stayed behind, moving a step or two closer to gently shove my shoulder.

"Don't worry about her." He said with another hundred watt smile. "She'll warm up to you eventually,"

"You sure about that?" I joked, clearing my throat as I kept watching Rosalie storm off in that regal air.

"Sure as I know that rains comin'," Emmett replied with a sly cackle before he shrugged sheepishly. "See you later, Bella."

"See you," I called out after Emmett as he comically jogged after Rosalie. My eyes were still following the large vampire catch up to Rose when the bell rang, and I hurriedly walked into Spanish.

This time, Jessica sat alone with her hands in front of herself. A folded piece of paper twirling in her fingers like a carousel. The movement stopped as soon as she saw me through the door. Our eyes met, and she hastily looked down at her hands again. Twirling the note over and over, each time at a faster rate, as I approached our shared desk table and sat down beside her.

"Hey, Jess," I said, if only to try and break the ice.

She lingered too long, staring out into the void in front of her, before she stole a glance at me. "Hello, Bella."

Not used to how formal Jessica's voice funneled out of her, I glanced back down to the note in her hand. A note that seemed to have my name on it; but, I could really only make out the letter 'B' before she set the triangle down under her palm. Say something, I told myself. Just get it over with and ask if Lauren talked to her, it shouldn't be this hard. But, it was, and my lip began to sting from how hard I must have chewed on it.

Mrs. Morello was sprawling a long sentence in Spanish on the board, and when she finished, she took a seat at her desk. At the beginning of every class she had something she wanted us to translate and reply to in Spanish, and with her taking a seat, the classroom quieted down. When Jessica didn't talk about the note in her hand, or hand it to me, I opened my book bag and took out my Spanish book and the yellow notebook that went with it. The colorful array of patterns on the cover of my Spanish book was shielded with the note by the time I turned my notebook to an empty page. Reaching for the folded triangle, I unraveled the folded corners until I had a messy paper in front of me.

'Bella, is it true about you and Edythe? Is it true you like girls?'

My mouth tugged into a stiff grimace from reading such an underwhelming note. I'd been expecting mountains of paragraphs, or dozens of questions. Glancing over at Jessica, she wasn't looking at me, just deciphering the assignment with her chair as far away from my own as possible. Not that we ever sat very close to each other, anyway. Tapping the end of my pen quietly against the corner of the disheveled note, my lip throbbed again as I wrote a response.

Well, it dyed a huge black dot into the paper from not being sure how to answer. Feeling I could kill two birds with one stone, I scribbled a cursive loop over whatever letter I had been working and started to write my answer.

'Did Lauren say we were dating, or something?'

Pressing the note back toward Jessica, my eyes glanced fleetingly over her assignment. It looked like she got the 'tense' wrong, when the question on the board was asking about a future event, but now really wasn't the time to correct her work. She only looked up when the paper brushed against her wrist, and when she peeked over, she looked up at me with something that looked almost vindictive splashed over her face. Taking the paper from me, she scribbled a reply before she shoved it back under my nose and shrewdly watched my eyes.

'Tyler said his mom saw you two kissing outside the diner last night.'

My eyebrows furrowed together so sharply that it stung. We hadn't kissed outside the diner, had we? Surely the fog on the windows would have made it hard to see. Had Cora seen us close by and assumed? My brain throbbed almost as much as my lip, and I ran my hands through my hair discombobulated-ly until it hit me. Edythe had nibbled my ear. Maybe, through the foggy windows, it looked like she had kissed me? Thinking of that ear nibble, and what happened before it, made my face burn like a tomato. Glancing down at the note, I let my hair fall down to one side to try and hide it. Futile as it was with how goofily my mouth was curling. Even if I wanted to lie, just to make it easier until Edythe and I could share the news together, Jessica looked too unnerved to have missed catching the red on my face.

'We weren't kissing outside the diner.'

I wrote back, carefully scooting the note back toward Jessica's wrist. My hand was only able to move the paper half-way there before Jessica saw it. Watching her eyes scan over that line over and over, the lack of any kind of answer or response made my stomach curdle into little groans of nausea. She shoved the note back to me without answering it, and continued on with the daily assignment like she had better things to do than talk to me. I found myself floored by it, strangely enough. Where were the forty questions? All traces of the flushing reds and goofy smile vanished from my face.

Folding the piece of paper so that the conversation was hidden on the inside of the folded note, I set my pen back down on the blank half and scribbled out a simple line about her love life, to try and get her mind off Edythe and I.

'So, I saw Mike sitting next to you, did he ask you out again?'

Sliding the paper over toward Jessica, she turned her head to look. In one fleeting moment a sadness crossed her face before she looked away from my note entirely. I tried again a few minutes later, but there was no answer. Was it bad to want to wait explain to my friends when Edythe was with me? Should I have been more blunt?

Mrs. Morello was talking now, something about the pronunciation of the rolled 'R' and how it could change the meaning of a word completely. Jessica was never a dutiful student and the fact that she kept sitting there taking notes instead of copying off of my paper concerned me more than I wanted to admit to myself. Once she had some time to process, maybe Jessica would be back to her old self again.

With that thought in mind, I finished the daily assignment and took notes until the bell for Lunch rang. However, as soon as that loud 'buzzing' noise erupted behind us, Jessica stayed put and looked at me. Her eyes anxiously sneaking off to watch the other students leave the classroom. Was she waiting for me to get up from the desk? Feeling weird just sitting there, I stood and slung my backpack over my shoulder. Pushing in my chair as quietly as possible as I looked between the departing students and Jessica's darting eyes.

"W-wait, Bella," Jessica finally said something, and I paused at the edge of our desk to wait for her. She didn't stand up; but, she did look at my face. Shrewd curiosity melting over her facial features, semi-hidden by her curly dark hair.

"Yeah?" The word escaped me uneasily, when two minutes passed by and Jessica still hadn't said anything.

"I'm eating with Mike today," Jessica said, as though that wasn't common knowledge?

"Okay," I replied, sliding the note into my pocket to bury it with the other ball I'd taken from Tyler.

"I mean, I'm eating with Mike everyday now. So, you don't need to wait for me anymore."

Understanding filled me, and I nodded. "Okay, have fun, Jess," I mentioned with as much warmth and friendliness as I could muster. Despite the smile she gave, she didn't look reassured, and I couldn't shake the feeling that Jessica just didn't want to be seen with me anymore. Whether that was true or not, she didn't stop me when I turned to go and I walked out without her.

Mike was waiting by the door, tilting his head to one side with his curious, friendly, smile plastered over his mouth. "I'm glad to see you, Bella. Sorry about taking your spot this morning."

Nothing about Mike's face or mannerisms conveyed in any way that he knew about Edythe and I. Or he was just so kind that he didn't care, which seemed unlikely, as there was still a hint of affection pining in his eyes. "It's fine, I'm glad to see you and Jess so happy," I encouraged with genuine warmth as I toyed absentmindedly with the balls of paper wadded up in my coat pocket.

"We are, I think," Mike blubbered bashfully, only to tilt his body a bit and look behind me. "You ready for lunch?" He asked toward who I could only presume to be Jessica lingering behind me; but, his eyes immediately shifted to me as though to extend the invitation.

"A-Actually, Mike, I was thinking you and I could eat _alone_ today?" Jessica pleaded, her voice so craked that it didn't leave any wiggle room for doubt. She didn't want to eat with me, so she wouldn't have to.

"Yeah, totally, I have homework to catch up on," I insisted, ignoring the bitterness I felt when Jessica's eyes lit up with relief. "I'll see you later."

Angela and Eric waved when I walked into the cafeteria, waving me over with their naive glee so I could skip ahead in the lunch-line to join them. While Eric talked about Dungeons and Dragons or some kind of video game I didn't know anything about, my eyes slipped away of their own accord toward the Cullen table. Rosalie and Emmett were there, facing away from the window. Emmett waved when he saw me, and I almost smacked the glasses off of Eric's face when I waved back at him.

"Ah, sorry, Eric," I mumbled as my hands slit into my coat pockets. In the back of my mind, I realized that Rosalie and I were both wearing purple coats; but, I pretended to ignore that coincidence today.

Eric chuckled at me with a dorky grin of amusement. "Do you _always_ roll one for balance, Bella?" I didn't get the reference; but, Angela giggling at the comment seemed to convey that the joke was innocent enough.

A dry laugh bubbled out of my throat. "Yeah, I guess."

Taking a plastic tray once we were near enough to pick from the variety of food, I found myself unusually famished and tugged a piece of pepperoni pizza onto my tray. Sliding along with the others in line to pay for that and my usual lemonade. When I peeked behind me, Mike and Jessica were just getting in line.

Squinting slightly when I thought I saw that familiar platinum blond hair of Lauren poking out from one of the window tables, I leaned slightly away from the counter to look for her male counterpart, and sure enough there Tyler was. He wasn't looking at me, thankfully, but he looked uncomfortable with whatever it was he was talking about. Was he talking about Edythe and I? How I acted earlier when he gave me the note?

"Bella, you coming?" Angela's kind voice drew me away from watching the window table, and I offered an encouraging nod.

"Yeah, sorry, just spacing out," we walked to pay, and I turned to the usual table where we all sat. Some students I recognized were there; but, none of them were Alice. None of them were Edythe, and the table just looked sad to me. Paying for lunch to not hold up the line more than I already had, I halted to look between the two tables. Should I approach Tyler and Lauren, now? Emmett kept waving me over, did he want me to sit with them? Rosalie or Lauren – I couldn't decide which blond unsettled me most.

Angela didn't draw me out again, though I could feel her watching me out of the corner of my eye. Rosalie raising her hand in brisk wave made the decision for me. Who cares what Lauren thinks, anyway? If I was going to be spending eternity with the Cullens, then Rosalie and I had some sisterly bonding to do. It wasn't that I didn't want to sit with Angela and Eric. The facts remained, that of everyone in the cafeteria, the two I'd most likely be sharing eternity with were here. Eventually, I'd have to let everyone else go. Perhaps it would be easier if I started doing that now…

"Actually, I'm going to sit over there," I called out toward Eric and Angela, who had just sat down at the usual table. Two pairs of glasses gleamed after me under the florescent light as I turned away from my human friends and walked straight for the Cullen's window table. Was I within vague earshot of Lauren and Tyler? Maybe if they spoke loudly enough. However, if sitting closer encouraged Lauren to come over and passively prod at me, I was ready for it.

Rose mildly curled her too beautiful mouth at me when I sat down at their table. Unsettling as it was, the gesture was genuine enough for me to appreciate and I attempted a smile back.

"Glad to see you come over to the 'cool' table," Emmett quipped with another super-wide grin as he pushed the pasta on his tray around with his fork.

"I think you mean the _'cold'_ table," I mumbled lamely, and for whatever reason Emmett thought it was funny. He laughed boisterously as he raised one of his massive hands to push Rose enough to rock her back and forth.

Rose wasn't amused; but, at least she wasn't glaring at me this time. "Enough."

Emmett sheepishly looked down at the food he wasn't going to eat. "Sorry, Babe," he teased, clearly enjoying how easy it was to press Rosalie's buttons.

Chewing on a bite of pizza to try and ignore the tension I felt just sitting here, by the time I swallowed Rose had turned her body to face me. It was disconcerting to have Rosalie staring at me while I ate, and I set the rest of my pizza back down on the tray. Keeping her golden eyes set on me, I found it difficult to read her expression. I couldn't be sure if she was angry at me, or not, but something was obviously bothering her.

"Alice told me that you intend to become one of us," Rosalie mentioned; finally breaking the silence. Regardless of the assertive tone she used, her eyes were pleading, as though she was hoping there was a chance I could have changed my mind.

"I do," the unshakable peace in my voice seemed to drown the light in her eyes.

"Is there nothing that will change your mind?" Rosalie held onto her hope, and something like guilt tugged at me for destroying it.

Emmett quickly glanced between us before he pretended to focus on his food again. Evidently he wasn't going to chime in on this conversation, so I turned my head back to Rosalie. Setting my tray away from me, as I had no appetite once that pained look showered over me.

"I can't think of anything that would," that seemed to be the nicest answer I could give. "I want to be with Edythe, as a part of your family. Is that a bad thing?"

Rosalie gingerly shook her head, her hand spreading across the table to take Emmett's bulky paw and squeeze it. "No, its not something I can't sympathize with." She trailed off as though there was something she wasn't saying; an underlying motive that lay hidden under the surface.

"But?"

Rosalie softly patted the table with her fingers in dismay; avoiding eye-contact with me. Her golden gaze set only on Emmett's face for the longest moment before she looked down at her own uneaten salad. "I am forever grateful," she began. "To have Emmett here, by my side, but we will always be _this,_ Bella…"

Emmett glanced toward Rosalie with subtle glimmers of anguish dampening his gaze, but he said nothing to interrupt her.

"We will never age, or grow old," Rose wasn't immune to the pain in Emmett's eyes, and she turned her head to look at me as though it hurt her too much to keep looking at him. "We'll never have children, or grandchildren. We're just stuck, like rocks on the side of a stream." Rosalie moved one perfectly manicured hand over my own, and the cold chill of her touch shivered through me unpleasantly.

Instantly my hand tugged out from under her touch – so fast that I almost banged my knuckles under the table. Rubbing my fingers together, over and over, to heat the blood back into them. "I don't think Edythe and I would be able to have children, anyway," I mentioned, even though we both knew it wasn't the point. "To be honest with you, I've never had any desire for a future, Rosalie."

"I don't care how crappy you think your life is, Bella," Rosalie interjected, a little too loudly for me to not make a cursory glance around us. No one was looking at our table, at the very least no one that I could see without turning all the way around. "Becoming what we are" – she struggled for words, and I saw Emmett squeeze her hand with both of his wrestling fists – "it's not just leaving everything you know behind. It's giving up everything you could have, too."

"I'm not" – my eyes stung from over-blinking in my struggle to express myself – "making the choice because my life is terrible," My fingers toyed with the edges of the pizza crust, unknowingly crumbling the pieces away from the cheesy middle as I spoke. "Or just because of Edythe and I," a large chunk of bread from the crush peeled off of the pizza, and I looked down curiously at the half-burnt ripped up ball in my hands. "It's my choice whether I stay this way or change to be like you. If I did change my mind, someday, I know Edythe would understand. I mean, she promised she wouldn't leave me – we could figure something out."

Tossing the ball of bread aside onto the tray, so I stopped getting grease on my fingers, I knotted my hands together before I continued on. Reassured to keep going because Rosalie hadn't tried to interject another comment, yet. "But I don't want to live my life, however long it is, planning for multiple futures. I want to be one of you. I want to be with Edythe and your family."

Rose opened her mouth, as though she was going to say something; but, I held my hand up to try and stop her. "Wait," I entreated. "Just let me finish." Grabbing a napkin, I wiped my fingers until they felt moderately decent. "If I change my mind, we can plan another future then, but I have a little under two years to get to know your family. I don't" – the word escaped me for the longest moment – "expect, to just _force my way_ into your family. You all have to chose me back."

Emmett turned to me with another of his hundred-watt grins; but, he said nothing and tried to temper his gladness when he saw the agony lingering over Rosalie's dazzling eyes.

"I have no aversion to you becoming my sister, Bella, if that is the path you choose," Rose began to say, her chest heaving up and down with a mournful sigh. One that brought no comfort to either of us.

"You just wish I wouldn't choose it," the words escaped me as morosely as the melancholy which drenched over her model-worthy face.

"Precisely," Rosalie murmured with more sunlight to her tone than I had ever heard her use before. Needing to comfort her, even though I felt like she would be as put off by physical touch as I was, my hand moved to platonically rest over manicured fingers.

"Whether I become what you are, or not, I would like to think of us as family."

Rose tugged her fingers away from my greasy hand; but, her eyes were gleaming with honeyed mirth. "I would like to, too."

Deeming himself able to interject at this point, Emmett took in a great breath – as though he'd been holding it in for centuries. "Finally, we can eat!" he chimed with a hearty laugh, only to look down to the pasta salad on his tray with a decidedly powerful grimace. Touching a few curly noodles with his fork before he pushed it aside as he snuck a secret, pining, glance at me. "Just hurry up and eat so we can go, Bella."

Rosalie melodically chuckled as her fork stabbed various bits of lettuce. Clearly just buying time for me to finish my pizza…

Taking the hint, I hurried.

Rosalie and Emmett walked with me until the bell rang for our next class, asking many of the basic questions that Edythe had once asked. If I enjoyed sports, preferred cats or dogs, my favorite flowers, my favorite color, what my mom and dad were like, etc. Emmett seemed to get a kick out of how silly I thought Edythe's baseball uniform was. Rosalie seemed to be far more easygoing than I had imagined she could be, and I found myself overcoming my basic, primal, fear that she would randomly lash out at me.

Whether it was because there was so little time, or Rosalie simply felt enough heavy conversation had passed for one day, she didn't ask me about Edythe and I, or other sensitive questions that would be difficult to answer. In turn, I avoided answering in a way that might open up a Pandora's box, with the exception of one thing. A comment Rose made once Emmett had departed, heading toward the other end of campus.

"You know, Emmett and I used to have a wedding every ten years, or so, before we leave one home for another," Rose brought up, just when I thought we were heading our separate ways.

"Oh?" The word ushered from me before I could fathom what else there was to say. Why was she telling me this? Did everyone in her family already order the invitations? A strong tug hit me, drowning me into silence whenever the subject of marriage came up in my head, and the pull was just as powerful now. More so, if that was possible, from Rosalie's soft gaze scrutinizing my face.

"A few weeks before we left Alaska, Alice and Jasper had their wedding," Rose continued on, and I could already sense the point filtering down to my stomach before she made it. " _This_ was to be our turn again, after high school is over," the wind stirred her crown of honey-blond hair, albeit not enough for it to muss or ruin as she stood before me – far too regal against the backdrop of ordinary Forks. "If it is your wish, Emmett and I will wait until our _next_ home, to have another ceremony."

For the longest time I kept standing there, watching Rosalie's face as her eyes bore into mine. Slowly, the dawning of revelation began to filter through the clouds in my head. Only when the light-bulb finally lit, did my mouth began to close from its half-open flabbergasted state. Did I understand her right? Was a wedding ceremony like a rite of passage for the Cullens? Symbolic of moving from one place to another? My mind raced, trying desperately to recount the exact words Edythe had used. A day for our families to celebrate, was that what she said? A way to reassure my family that I was chasing every joy in life before I…

"I'm not expecting an answer" – Rosalie began, interjecting my thoughts unconsciously – "or any obligation for you both to have _this turn_. I know these times are very different for us than for you and they always will be," Rosalie reassured, and yet the ability to speak continued to elude me. Still trying to remember the argument with Edythe yesterday night, and pay attention to her, my mind raced too much to say anything. "I _do_ cherish my sister, Edythe, despite our... _disagreements,_ in the past. Regardless of what you both decide, Bella, I want you to have your day. Or at least the _option_ of having one."

"Thank you," the words blubbered meekly out of me. The word 'option' floating over and over in my head as her eyes worriedly washed over my face. It wasn't fair, how beautiful she was. A part of me wondered if she had posed for the birth of Venus painting, as I couldn't exactly remember how old Edythe said Rosalie was – or even if she had told me about Rosalie before. 'Thank you' was the only thing I could think to say, and even that left me feeling as weightless and undesirable as a saltine cracker.

Rosalie smiled, though the heat in her eyes was tempered with something very like pain as she watched my face. Was I grimacing at her? I could hardly tell how I looked by sensation alone.

It was then that the bell rang, rescuing and stranding me in the throng of its annoying buzz.

"I'll see you later, Bella. Do drive carefully on your way home," Rosalie entreated as she walked away, far too move-star perfect for me to not mourn being born a brunette for at least a moment. My feet led me to class, and all the while, I thought about what Rosalie had said to me. A pile of scribbles for experiment notes was proof enough of that. Something felt _off_ about Rosalie's kindness, and for the life of me I couldn't pinpoint why that was. Yes, she didn't want me to become a vampire, neither did Edythe for that matter, and yet that sensation of having the wool pulled over my eyes wouldn't escape me.

Maybe it was all in my head. But, it felt like Rosalie was trying too hard. Alice was very enthusiastic about Edythe and I, and it was certainly annoying at times, but that seemed to be just how Alice was. Which was something she and I were going to have a very long talk about when this company business was over. For Rosalie, I just couldn't pin my thumb on why her attempts at mending fences felt so _wrong._

In the end, I decided that she and I – were – from different times. Perhaps I was over-scrutinizing her motives unfairly, and she did feel guilty for how she had responded to me. Giving her the benefit of the doubt was easy, and I knew if I kept searching there would be too many pins in the balloon for me to take her words at face value anymore.

In the back of my mind, Edythe's vague, possibly altered, words funneled through my head. How she didn't want to find me surrounded in a pile of my own blood, like Rose. There was certainly something in their past, of that I could be wholly certain, but what could have happened for Rosalie to be so quick to embrace me, now? Why, outside of the obvious reasons that my mind was ignoring right now, would Rosalie have been so upset that her family was…

The image of Carlisle and Esme delightedly and anxiously raising their chalices of sparkling cider flashed through my mind half-way through badminton. My racket very nearly thwapped one of Lauren's friends in the elbow as the thought ricocheted through my mind. The toast was symbolic – they must have already accepted me as their new family member. They must already see me as Edythe's _mate_. Of course they were anticipating a wedding, however ungodly it was to do so. It's an important rite of passage in _Edythe's family_.

"Hey! Watch what you're doing!" One voice shouted beside me, the girl I'd almost hit had turned to look at me. Aggression burning in her eyes.

"Are you trying to handicap, us, Bella?!" Another voice from one of the students I didn't know very well chimed up to join her, and I blindly shook my head. I was too enveloped in my thoughts to give a damn about badminton right now.

"Sorry, I need to go sit down," the words rumbled out of me, probably so badly mumbled that no one could hear me, and I walked away from the makeshift playing field with the racket hanging down by my calve.

"Coach Clapp, can I please be excused to the bathroom?" I begged, barely able to look the woman in the eye from how disoriented I felt. Perhaps they noticed how my eyes failed to lock on target, because I was given a firm nod, and I vanished without giving more than a brisk wave in reply. The racket abandoned on one of the benches before I escaped into the girl's locker room.

All of my heart beat in anguish of what could be running through Edythe's mind right now. How I'd unintentionally belittled her, and her family – the very people I was so set on joining when the time came for it to be done. My greatest fear, that Edythe might deem us incompatible, thrummed through me; dampening down to my toes in frosty shivers as I hurriedly changed back into my clothes. Who really cared if I scored a 'D' in P.E, anyway? There were more important things to say and do than wait until school was over to get this matter straightened out.

Thirty minutes before sixth period ended, I was in the cab of my truck, about to turn the keys into the ignition. Inwardly kicking myself for not parking further away from the office, because the Beast was not a car for stealth, as soon as I turned the ignition – I knew that everyone in the nearby buildings would hear him roar to life. There were certainly risks to leaving early – I could get detention or poor attendance marks. I could show up at the Cullen's while the human-drinking vampires were still be at their house. There was even a strong chance that Edythe would be royally pissed to see me show up unannounced after the scuffle we had yesterday night – what if she had time to think and thought better of being with me now?

I'm _already_ family to them, I reminded myself. Desperately hoping to a deity (which I wasn't sure if I believed in) that I wasn't misunderstanding my place in the Cullen family, my breath slowed and hyperventilated seemingly all at once.

"They'll be glad to see me", I braced myself in a quiet whisper to nobody. "They would never let anyone hurt me."

Sitting all the way back against the seat of the cab, I had almost entirely forgot about Emmett and Rosalie's present. Had I not happened to glance down at the passenger side floorboard, I might not have noticed it at all. Sliding my hand away from the ignition, I unbuckled myself so I could bend over and pick up the paper wrapped ball off the floor. Whatever it was, it felt much heavier than it looked. Intrigued too deftly to unwrap it later, my twitching fingers enthusiastically stripped the paper away from the outside.

A quiet gasp escaped my lips as I turned the object to and fro in front of me.

It was a homemade, ceramic, mug, that I had no desire at all to drink from. Realistically sculpted to resemble a flourishing cactus, painted needles dotted from the protruding, soft, diamond-shaped edges along the side. Cactus flowers bloomed along the top of the handle, from where a right-handed person would normally press their thumb to hold the mug steady for drinking. No doubt it would be comical to most people, but this was the sort of drink-ware that I would keep in a glass case to showcase to others. As beautiful as hand painted tea kettles were, this mug and all the warmth I missed in Phoenix was the epitome of beauty.

Images of Emmett and Rosalie seated together at a pottery wheel, like that romantic scene from Ghost, flooded through my head. In wonder of how this mug had been made, for several minutes I just brushed my fingers along the smooth edges of the mug. It didn't look store bought, as there was no logo at the side or on the bottom. Although, turning it upside down did cause a little card to fall from the mug and prickle against my thigh.

Carefully setting the mug inside my backpack, which was now buckled in to protect its cargo from harm, I focused my hand on the note. The aqua-green colored script was certainly beautiful to look at; but, it wasn't nearly as flourishing as Edythe's handwriting was. Even so, the simple note deluged me. The amount of forethought which must have gone into the making of this present touched me.

'For those days when you miss Arizona – Emmett and Rose'.

My fingers held the card until the edges damply stuck to my finger pads from perspiration. Such a simple card, really, it felt like a birthday gift I didn't deserve. All concern of Rosalie trying too hard to win my forgiveness vanished from my mind as I slipped the card into one of the side pockets of my book bag. Generally I hated surprises, and yet, it was hard to be angry at the Cullens for constantly surprising me. My whole world had become chock-full of surprises at every turn, as it was. Most of them wonderful, enchanting even. As weird as it was, perhaps it wouldn't be _too_ horrible to become accustomed to a _little_ pampering, though Alice and I were certainly going to have a long talk once Edythe and I were able to talk things through together.

Of one thing I could be absolutely certain. I couldn't let Edythe or her family slip away. Everything inside me was determined to make things right, understand her and their way of life on their own level.

With one darting glance at campus, mostly to make sure I wasn't being followed, I buckled myself back in and turned the keys in the ignition.

My beast roared to life, devouring the gas in the tank faster than my allowance could afford as he rolled through the parking lot. He was such a loud truck, it was no doubt that everyone in the nearby buildings could hear me sneaking out of school early.

With one fleeting glance behind my shoulder, I turned onto the freeway when it was safe to turn before anyone had a chance to stop me.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three - Hounds

_Another late night writing session, actually several days of late night strenuous writing finally produced this chapter. There were many changes I made to the original draft, softening areas of dialogue which were too harsh, or being less detailed than the run-on sentences had funnelled out. If I miss any spelling errors, I'd appreciate a copy paste of the sentence so I can find it, but otherwise I hope I cut out any major plot holes and goofs. What things I left vague, are vague for a purpose, though I leave it to your discovery to find those little details out._

 _Thank you very much for your review, Sailor! Unfortunately I had a hard time understanding some of what you said; but, I think I get the jist of your comments. If you're not a native English speaker, I think you did very well! Though sometimes we have phones or keyboards that are just jerks, so keep on giving me your two cents - I appreciate it a great deal._

...

 _ **Ps:**_ _I was asked in a PM to consider writing for Beau and Edward. As tempted as I am to consider starting off, there is much to finish for this fanfiction before I can work on another project._ _Frankly, as much as I want to, I'm having some hard times and not making any money while health and other family issues makes it hard to write as fast as I wish I could. My partner considered me opening up a donation box somewhere, just for if people want to help, and not because I expect anything. Oh how nice it would be to make a living writing fanfiction; but, life doesn't exactly work that way. While I wouldn't pursue it on this website, I wouldn't mind some yay or nay opinions on the subject, if you wanted to send me a PM or comment at the bottom of a chapter view._

 _Regardless - I'm very excited for your opinions on this chapter. This one was very eventful, and the next will be pivotal. Keep me posted! I'll write when I can._

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* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Three**

* * *

Heavy rain beat down on the windshield of the Beast as the poor, old, fellow finally heaved into a huffed stop in front of the Cullen house. Jacob was right – I shouldn't have tried to push the poor truck past sixty miles an hour. Heat radiated from the engine in wavy steam that tempered the appearance of the house into a surreal reflection of what it was. Turning the key in the ignition, the lights of my truck flickered and turned off. Bathing the house in an eerie darkness that made the porch stick out like an ominous maw.

"I'm sorry, baby," I cooed as I ran my hand along the dash board, hastily moving my fingers away from the heat. Unbuckling without a second thought, the keys safely hidden in the pocket of my jeans, my gaze darted hastily to the windows. There weren't any lights on, which briefly made me wonder if they only kept the lights on for my benefit. Not able to see any movement inside the house, a hard fist squeezed my stomach, not that a normal person would be able to see through the sheeting rain once the window wipers stopped moving, anyway. Were they staying inside because they were busy? Were they not home anymore? Would Edythe be angry if I waited inside?

I had to try. Getting lost on route from the freeway to finally find the off-road that led to their house had been difficult enough to warrant at least a knock on the door. Terror filled me, a cold warning voice that told me I wouldn't be welcome inside. Fighting against the fear throbbing in hard beats inside my chest, my hands wrung themselves raw.

Still no movement arose from the house. They had to be out – taking their 'guests' to the border, for instance. Maybe Carlisle was showing that one vampire who was partial to learning the animal-tarian diet where the best hunting spots were? Imagining Carlisle teaching someone else how to hunt deer would ordinarily have been comical to me. It should have made me laugh – the way Alice leaping into the air after birds had bubbled a chuckle from my mouth. Oh, how I wished I could ease the tension inside of me; but, nothing could shake the destructive feeling that something was terribly and inexplicably _wrong_.

Why would they lie to me? Why wouldn't they be here?

Stop worrying, Bella, I chided myself. Just try the door, what harm could come from knocking on the door? Reaching over to unbuckle my backpack, I slid the arm carefully over my shoulder and opened my driver's side door. Rain splattering messily over my calve as I hopped down from the driver's seat. For once, I didn't care about the cold, wet, thing, I was becoming.

Slamming the door just hard enough to be sure that even a distracted vampire could hear me, I waited on the porch to shelter myself from the rain and watched the windows. No lights flickered on. No shadows appeared in the windows. Again, that sensation that something was terribly wrong lurched inside of me. A powerful worry for Edythe's safety lead me up those few steps to the door.

Fist raised above my head, I was about to knock when my entire body froze again. Hot smoke puffed from my lips simply from how cold it had become since it started raining. Such a strange and ominous Monday, I pondered to myself. In the course of thirty minutes of driving, the sky had become so dark. Watching the door through the light smoke whispering past my lips, my hand lowered to try the door; forsaking the act of knocking entirely.

The door was unlocked, and it didn't take much to push it open. Not so much as a creak whistled to me as I peered into the darkened foyer. The house was kept in excellent condition, I doubted even an antique chest would make a sound if I opened it.

Taking the first step inside was the hardest; but, once I wiped my muddy shoes on the doormat and pressed my sole to the ground, my feet just kept going. Racing upstairs as quickly as I could without losing my limited balance, my voice echoed through the house:

"Edythe?" Cold smoke still wheezed from my lips. The Cullens didn't need heat, I wagered. They must have warmed the house especially for my sake alone during the sleepover. My arms tightly wound around myself in an attempt to keep warm. Icy tendrils shuddering through me as I continued the trek along the upstairs hallway.

"Carlisle? Esme?" I called out in vain, even knowing that the likelihood of any of them being home was exceedingly slim.

The house was a graveyard, an exquisitely decorated theater of life, and I wasted no time in opening each door that I recognized. Not wanting to peek into bedrooms, I only knocked on the bathroom door, Carlisle's study, and Edythe's room. Peeking inside each dark chamber with fresh hope, pain tugged my face into a worried scowl at finding each room to be empty. Uncertain of when my Edythe and her family would be home, my feet carried me onward to Edythe's room. The last room of the hall, the only sanctuary that felt like it might someday be a place for me to reside in.

My bag sank down onto the pale carpet with a soft sigh as I took in the room. To think, it had only been a few nights ago when I was last here, and yet, it felt as though months had passed. My arms returned to guarding my chest, the phantasm of smoke still whispering from my nose. Yearning to see the room in its entirety, I bent to turn on the desk lamp nearby. Although the outside clouds and rain diluted what natural light added to the desk lamp, it was enough to take in the merry mess beneath me.

An ocean of balled up notes, similar to the ones in my pocket, conjured froth under the light. Some were crumpled music sheets, others stationary paper which had been blotted out to the point of being incomprehensible. Of this stoic symphony, four balled masses of expensive looking paper remained on the surface of the desk, with many more in the garbage can nearby. What could Edythe have been working so hard to write?

Each balled up note felt like a snippet from her diary, something private I shouldn't peer into, and yet I couldn't help myself. Glancing out the window, hearing nothing outside to reassure me that there wouldn't be any harm in finding answers, I took the nearest ball and unveiled it. The lines were blotted out, though not so muddied that I couldn't garner the first line of it.

It read:

'Dearest Bella,

 _I beg your forgiveness for what I must do, our lives_ '

These notes had to do with me. Whatever guilty conscience that stemmed from any angel on my shoulder was muffled under the demand of fear racing through me. Hastily, I grabbed the second note, nearly ripping it open as I read my eyes over the lines. While this note was clearly deemed unworthy to formulate her thoughts, as it wouldn't have been crumpled up into a ball if it had, the message contained such potency as to make me sink down onto the carpeted floor. All strength draining from me as my eyes whiplashed back and forth over the words and sank onto my knees.

'My Bella,

I have considered often since we met that our worlds are incompatible. There are, but, two solutions to our ardency. Soon it shall be too late for you to have the luxury of a choice. I have no right to demand your life be taken from you, though I could live with the decision if indeed you had experienced what life has to give and decided otherwise. You shall never know for certain what life you wish to have while I remain here.

I am wholly unhealthy for you, dearest. _I am_ A devouring leech feeding from the nectar of your sweet soul, desecrating the vitality of your mind – to the point where you notice nothing else except for me as your entire future. You gave up so easily So quickly fell to your knees, so quickly you surrendered your soul, and I realized there shall be no chance for you to make an unbiased decision while I remain. My demands upon you have been too great, I have been too selfish, and I can ignore my wrongs no longer.

I must go, _because I love you more than myself_ '

The damaged note, with lines crossed through, words scribbled out and scavenged from the Earth, tortured me. Dismayed beyond what I could bear, the air wheezed from my lungs in hot, cold, gasps of smoke. There were more balls, more words, and I desperately sat up on my knees to reach for them.

The next ball was a page of music notes, disjointedly spelling out some kind of melody that died before being squeezed and abandoned on the desk.

The last paper on the desk, partially trapped between leather bound journals, was dislodged with such haste that the cup of pens on her desk flew everywhere when I snatched it. One or two expensive, antique, fountain pens nearly pierced my shoulder before I sat back down on the floor. The remainder of pens water-falling off of the desk onto the floor around me, clattering louder than the rain despite the soft carpet cushioning their fall.

'My dearest, Bella,

 _I pray you forgive me._ I beg you to reconsider the human life you could have without me. The gifts and joys you could share with another. Though it butchers my heart to even think of you in the arms of any other person in this world, it cannot compare to the wasteland you would be joining if you choose to become one of us.

My heart shall always be yours, but it appears we desire different paths in life. The only way I can feasibly find any semblance of peace is by knowing you have the freedom to pursue your own path. I cannot endure in the knowledge that I am your poison.

You shall always choose me while my scent, my presence, tempers your mind against what is rational. Should you become what I am and have nothing left beneath the spell I have cast upon you unwillingly, my heart would not, nay could not, bear it. Please forgive me, please try to forget me, and consider your family above yourself – as I should have done.'

Several words had melded together in a blur from the paper not being dry when Edythe crushed it into a mottled sphere. As such, I could only guess as to their meaning by gazing back and forth between the legible notes. She wanted to leave me, that was the jist of both letters. Nay, even the scattered, unfinished, music sheet eluded to that. Somehow I had devastated her to the point where she thought she was a drug to me. Was that true? Was there any merit to that thought?

Resting both notes in my lap, rereading her annoyingly graceful script over and over again, a deep breath finally exhaled from me. There was a part of me, and I wasn't certain how powerful that part would be, that wept from reading her unfinished letters. Even now, the stinging of unshed tears pricked my eyes, but to cry would solve nothing. Edythe was either going to come home eventually, or I was going to find her so we could talk this through, and I needed to know what to say when that happened.

Taking the two most coherent notes and the unfinished music sheet, I folded them into a small rectangle and pressed them into the depths of my front jean pocket. They were her private notes, and I knew it was wrong, but I needed to keep them with me. Silly as it was to treasure such painful letters, I didn't want them tossed in the sea of crumpled pages abandoned in the trash can.

Over the course of an hour and a half of waiting, I stood, paced, and sat down on Edythe's gray couch. Occasionally I glanced out the window; but, the dark rain clouds prevented me from making out minor details. I couldn't be certain if I was being watched, although, I considered that if I – was – being watched, surely I would feel that familiar ping in my stomach?

It all happened so fast. One minute, I thought I heard the sound of a door slamming shut downstairs. The next, my beloved was in the doorway – frazzled and dismayed. Her mouth half-open with a soundless growl of vehemence. Her harried appearance disturbed me so greatly that my heart leapt in my chest from shock. Her clothing – jeans, gray t-shirt, sterling silver coat, and her doc martin short boots, were stained and torn. Leaves and mud stuck to her hair or body, which continued to appear far too perfect for me to think her filthy despite being half coated in mud. However, before I could say anything she dissolved the silence in a flurry of movement.

In one blink she was in front of me, bent over with both of her arms on either side of me, to ensnare me between her arms. For one split second she terrified me, if only from being so caught off guard by the haggardness of her appearance. The next moment, I was weightless. Transfixed within a waking dream, she raised me up from the couch and pressed me into the cold bed of her arms; collapsing into each other. Entangled in the bliss of a timeless sea as our lips waltzed together in a myriad of rushed, breathless, kisses. With every sound that broke from the crashing of our lips, I forgot about the letters in my pocket. My mouth became pleasantly numb as the natural heat warmed her mouth.

Life wasn't fair. When Edythe was filthy and disheveled, she looked like a movie star who was _pretending_ to be homeless person. How was it that even with dirt crusted over her forehead, she remained so radiantly gorgeous? Butter in her hands, I held her face in my fingers and wet myself in the taste of her mouth until she finally tore herself from my lips. The strain of agony on her face as she beheld me under the weight of her black, ravenous, eyes. Eyes that made me tingle and warm in ways unfit to be described.

"Do you have _any idea_ of the _suffering_ you put me through?!" Her voice trembled with such an unexpectedly seductive anguish that my knees forgot their strength and I began to sink in her arms.

My face burned as her mouth curled into that devastating crooked half-grin. That tomboyish drawl that sent my toes curling of their own accord. I blushed; unable to think of what to say in response to such heavy artillery. Shaking in the company of her lithe arms as I crumbled beneath the weight of her powerful, piercing, gaze.

"I-it can't be any w-worse than mine," I flushed, my voice so damp and warm in texture that I surprised myself. Whatever it was in my voice that floored me, it roused the swells of her pupils brighter with lust, and I felt her tremble as she held me in her arms. Held me like I weighed nothing more than feathers. Watching her through ghostly pants, noting how she held her own to gain resistance from our previous luxuria, her disheveled appearance once more distracted my focus.

"Edythe, what happened?"

Shirking herself toward the window, I felt her drift me down and set me on the cushion of her gray couch. Even knowing how difficult it was for her to to kiss me, bitter throbs panged through me at being torn from her arms. Toying her dusty fingers through her pristine, dirt-coated hair, there were rips and tears in her clothing that became more prominent as she paced back and forth in front of me. Eventually she stopped, pressed her balled fist tightly against her lips, and turned to face me.

"Quite the debacle, dearest," She began to say with a disconcerted sigh. Vexation and lingering plumes of lust radiated from her inhumanly black irises as she watched me. Though, it was hardly the fading lust in her eyes that drew my notice.

"Well, you look hungry," I pointed out, unable to ignore the striking change in her facial features. The usually light, lavender, complexion around her eyes had deepened into an almost indigo tincture.

"Famished, though not frenzied," Edythe confessed with a wry little smile. The kind of naughty curl that made my throat tight up uncomfortably. Unbeknownst to the effect she had on me, she slid her lithe fingers into the front pockets of her now torn jeans and approached. Taking a seat beside me and folding her arm around my shoulders. "Tis not easy to exhaust a vampire, though stress and exercise can weaken our faculties to _some_ degree."

Drawn into her cold embrace, I lay my head against the edge of her shoulder. Careful to keep my breath away from her face as I spoke. "What happened after our call last night?"

The question sobered her, and she did not immediately answer. A dewy sort of melancholy tempered the smile she tried to plaster over her mouth. "The short version of the chain of events is that two of the vampires who were staying with us became hostile," she began to explain, tugging stray bits of leaves or needles out of her hair as she spoke.

"The couple?" I asked, and she stopped pruning her crop of bronze hair long enough to nod at me.

"James was _keenly_ interested in Alice from the start," She began, pressing her lips to the top of my head in a soft, resting, peck. "And having no pleasure in distractions, I elected to _listen in_ on his thoughts this morning."

A soft rap turned my head, and Alice and Jasper stood outside the doorway – gazing at us from the hallway. For the former, Alice stood on the balls of her feet with a certain degree of smugness on her face. For the second, Jasper stood warily by with his hands tucked into his coat pockets.

"Do come in, if you insist on standing there," Edythe irritably sniped at her sister before the couple entered and the room took on a strangely peaceful tone. Whether it was seeing Alice and Jasper unharmed, or the fact that Edythe was no longer pacing like a ravenous lion in front of me, I felt more hopeful and relieved. Alice and Jasper also had dirtied clothing; though neither of their clothing had the level of butchery that Edythe's jeans and coat had endured.

"I _told you_ she was safe," Alice chided playfully, enough that Edythe narrowed her eyes again and glanced over at Jasper.

"Must you?" Edythe playfully hissed toward her brother alone, who simply cocked his head to the side in exacerbation.

All at once the peace and relief I felt began to wane. Numbing away as ice under the sun until the tremors of concern returned full force inside of me. Something was amiss, and I glanced between Jasper and Edythe until my beloved turned her head toward me and began to explain what was happening.

"Jasper has the singular ability to _control_ one's mood," Edythe began as her eyes drifted back toward Jasper. "Now, I am quite sour, brother, and I beg you – permit me to feel the _sting_ of it."

"Your ill temper will scarcely help us, now, Edythe," Jasper calmly insisted as he offered an apologetic smile toward me. "Although, if you wish to relish in your impudence, by all means."

"Hush, both of you," Alice moodily huffed as she sat down beside me and set her slender fingers over my own. Her irises were also darker than usual, though not nearly as ravenous as Edythe's own had become. Glancing between Alice and Jasper, I saw that his eyes were also weary, though the irises were quite golden in comparison to the others. His clothing was also the least tarnished of the three.

"Alice, what happened?" I demanded, biting down too hard on my lip from anxiety.

"At first, nothing," she explained, shaking her pixie head as her eyes sank down at an angle in thought. She tried to smile reassuringly; but, we both knew better than to believe the charade, and her smile quickly evaporated. Her head lowering as she watched her hands, which had slid away from me to fidget. "I could feel James watching me – studying me all through the evening."

Jasper uncomfortably swallowed before he sat down on the opposite side of Alice. Wrapping his arm around her for support. My eyes unconsciously drifted to Edythe, who was glancing away with vehemence toward her wall of CD shelves. Not wishing to risk irritating her more, I directed my attention back to Alice.

"After I came back from the diner, James was _exceptionally_ friendly and agreeable. He asked me if I was alright and engaged me in conversation. Nothing too out of the ordinary – he wasn't watching me lustfully," she mentioned with a light shrug, her eyes still mournfully downcast. "Or my Jazzy would not have stood for it," she beamed.

Jasper curled his mouth in a wry drawl in answer to Alice's praise. "Indeed, Ma'am."

"Go on," I beckoned as encouragingly as I could for her to continue.

"At any rate, James said he thought he _knew me_." Raising her head enough for her hair to tousle, Alice studied me for a long moment before her eyes fell back down to her hands again. "He asked if I remembered him; Remembered my sire."

Curiosity filled me, and I stopped nibbling on my lip for a moment. "Do you?"

"No, unfortunately. Much of my human life faded during the transformation. Possibly even before. The asylum I was housed in practiced – as many often did in those days – a barbaric kind of fever therapy. Inducing illness of one kind to attempt to replace or heal another – in my case, they hoped to cure my hysteria with Typhoid fever," she explained, shaking her head gently. "When I awoke in this state, I had been locked in the asylum sewer tunnels. In my pocket was a medical journal that carried enough information for me to eventually discover who I was," the light in her eyes waned, and for a moment I thought they glazed over. "But the doctor who wrote that journal, whom I can only presume to have been a vampire, never resurfaced," her gaze drifted mournfully toward Jasper, who pressed his shorter mate against his chest in an embrace. "I do not believe he still lived when I awoke, based upon his last entry."

"You mustn't blame yourself, darling'," Jasper drawled in his sweetly southern accent. Affectionately dusting away the lingering soil or brambles from her damp hair as she nuzzled into him. When Alice opened her eyes, they glimmered brightly with remorse.

"James offered to tell me how we met if we spoke _alone,_ and I couldn't resist the desire to know more," Alice continued, pausing as she looked toward her sister. "But, Edythe was close enough to hear his thoughts while we spoke in the greenhouse." They had a greenhouse?

My eyes sought my beloved, and she reluctantly flicked her dark eyelashes down at me with a similar pang of guilt to her onyx gaze. Edythe didn't need to wait for me to speak before she began to explain more.

"He was wondering whether or not to hunt her down now, or later," Edythe mentioned as she tightened her arm around my waist. "Even that I could have forgiven, as it is in the nature of most human-drinkers to occasionally dwell on thoughts of murder," She explained, apologetically coaxing her fingers against my cheek until the apple of my cheekbone was nestled in her palm.

Unable to deny how liberating it was to feel the familiar sizzle of pleasure that radiated through me at her touch, for a moment I let my eyes close. Drinking in her presence before I heard her voice again.

"I decided to wait in the shadows, at least until he had firmly made up his mind to go after Alice," Edythe continued, her palm sliding away from my cheek. "But I underestimated what the hunt means to him."

Alice reached over to deliver soft pats to Edythe's hand reassuringly. "We all did, Eedee," she whispered as Edythe touched my chin.

Distracted again by the bliss of her touch, my moth eyes withdrew to the flame of our shared eye contact. Unable to deny how my heart raced incandescently to be so near. Edythe studied my eyes, perplexity searching the depths of my gaze before she glanced down to entangle my hand within her own.

"What happened, then?" I beckoned, combing my fingertips along Edythe's lithe, electric, fingers.

"Victoria was _somehow_ jealous of all the attention he gave Alice, and the subject dropped rather quickly," Edythe continued, shaking her head bemusedly at the idea.

No one said anything for several moments. Despite the happiness I felt in being wrapped up in Edythe's arms, a sinking sensation started to envelope me. It felt like information was being hidden from me. Shivering from the feeling of words left unsaid, as well as the cold of being held by a lifeless body, my eyes glanced between the three of them. If the subject dropped, then how did a 'debacle' begin?

"You don't need to shield anything from me," I finally said to break the uncomfortable silence. "Whatever happened with James and Victoria – you can tell me."

Alice anxiously looked toward Edythe, as though asking for permission, before she veered her fettered gaze at me. "Things changed when I saw a vision of you today, Bella," her eyes flicked to my own. "I was watching your reaction to Rosalie's questions, and I made the mistake of saying your name out loud in my exuberance."

Exuberance? My brows furrowed. What was there to be happy about?

"James asked who you were," Jasper continued for her, prattling his fingers against Alice's shoulder. "and Carlisle, despite his reservations, mentioned that you _might_ soon be one of us."

Edythe suddenly looked away, drifting herself from my arms as the irritation resurfaced. A black cloud hovering over her face as she grimaced in revulsion. Subtly showing her teeth in a primal, territorial, display to no one in particular. "T-the thoughts he had – of hunting you down. _Killing you_ to destroy our family," she shook her head over and over, as though unable to fully quell the beast inside her.

Desperate to try and calm her down, I reached for her arm and held her. Pressing my face into the torn fabric of her coat at the small of her back. Fettering two little kisses along her spine, my beloved's rigid muscles began to ease. Calmed by my presence, I felt her hands touch my elbows, and soon she rejoined me on the gray couch.

"It matters not if he meant them," Edythe began, once she had eased her mind. "My reaction to his thoughts was enticement enough to push his intrigues from fancy to formulation," Her eyes closed, and her hands reached for me. Interweaving our fingers, I held her gaze for as long as she would allow me. "After that, all hell broke loose. He has every desire and intention to destroy us, and Victoria worships his every tenacity. Aiding him in all his conquests."

Understanding washed over me as I realized why everyone was so disheveled. "Did you kill James?" I felt stupid asking, but what other alternative was there?

Thankfully, none of them appeared to be offended by the question. Alice shook her head thoroughly before she answered. "No, Victoria outmaneuvered our every move, somehow. Protecting James at every turn. We managed to chase them out of Forks; but, they'll be back, eventually."

"He thought: 'this shall be my most exciting game, ever'," Edythe added, disgust dampening her vocal texture as she grimaced blatantly in vehemence. "He won't stop until we're dead, of that we can rest assured."

"How comforting," I mumbled sarcastically, though the worry in my voice greatly watered down the snark.

"Bella, he intended to use you as _bait_ ," Alice warned, her eyes grave as she watched me. "He means to discover who you are, lure you away from us somehow, and separate us. Pick us off one by one."

"Then we should all stick together" – the words fell out of me in a rush – "where is everyone?"

"Rosalie and Emmett found us waiting at your house after school. They left to support Carlisle and Esme," Alice continued, glancing at Edythe worriedly for a moment. "When James and Victoria escaped, they ran head first into _Quileute territory._ "

I paled instantly. "We can't just sit here, then, the reservation is in danger!"

Disturbed at my outburst, Alice uneasily swayed to and fro in Jasper's arms like a snake. "We aren't _allowed_ across the border, Bella," she reminded with fear shining in her eyes. "Besides that, Carlisle and Esme have already gone to the edge of the border. They're planning to explain what happened to the elders before the wolves assume we sent James and Victoria in there to harm them. Rose and Emmett are on their way to protect them."

"Is Carlisle talking to them now?" I demanded; turning my attention back to Alice.

"Dearest, those _wolves_ can handle themselves without our help," Edythe mentioned, as though she had little to no desire to aid the Quelleutes. Somehow the term 'wolves' eluded my recognition as anything, but, a derogatory term. What was with the prejudice, the lack of empathy?

I gazed at Edythe; thoroughly appalled. Fury beginning to prickle under my skin at the sight of her poorly veiled disdain, but now wasn't the time to get to the bottom of that. Hastily, I turned my attention to my shorter, pixie, sister. "Are they talking to them, yet?"

"No," Alice mentioned, shaking her head as she spoke. Her eyes were far off in the distance – glazing over as she studied whatever line of fate that wiggled when she tugged it. "The Quelleutes either haven't noticed them, yet, or they aren't coming. My sight of them is very limited."

That was enough of an answer for me to move, at least until Edythe stopped me. Her fingers clutched my waist, holding me back from walking further. "What are you planning to do?"

Not wishing to waste time struggling against her impossibly strong hands, I turned to the best of my ability to face her. "I'm going to call Billy. Let him know that Carlisle is waiting for him."

The desperation which glimmered in her eyes melted into understanding. "Alright, wait here while I fetch the phone."

Regardless of how I yearned to protest – Edythe was certainly a great deal faster than I was. By the time I expelled a relenting sigh at my lack of speed, she had returned with the phone in her hand. Holding it outstretched toward me with some measure of hope brimming over her irises. "Do you have the number memorized?"

With an unconscious stomp of my foot on the carpeted floor, I realized I didn't. "No, but Charlie knows it," I explained, before an idea occurred to me and I turned my head toward Alice. "Unless you can find it for us?"

"My visions don't work that way, Bella," she teased; strings of pixie locks frolicking around her head bemusedly.

"While you do that, Alice and I are going to pack for the journey," Jasper mentioned before averting his charming gaze from myself to Edythe. "When you're ready to go, we'll follow Rose and Emmett's scent to the clearing by the river."

Edythe nodded soberly as I felt her hand trace along the side of my waist. "Only bare necessities, Alice," she warned after them in what I presumed to be a playful tease; but, there was no light to Edythe's smile.

Alice only nodded as she slipped away toward her room with Jasper in tow. Quiet as he generally was, Jasper paused to smile wholeheartedly in the doorway. Instant comfort washed over me; soaking me in enough reassurance and relief to rest assured that I was on the right path before he departed after her. I was sad to see him go, especially as the concern for Billy, Jacob, and the tribe overwhelmed me as soon as he slipped out of range.

Hanging on to that last lingering taste of courage, I hastily began to dial the number for the Forks police station. Trying not to click the wrong buttons as my hands fumbled and strangled the phone.

"Bella," Edythe beckoned. Her soft voice distracting me so much that I dialed the wrong number.

Irritatedly pressing the 'talk' button twice to try again, I only lightly glared at her. "I need to focus."

"Would you like me to dial it for you?" She asked after I messed up a second time.

My eyes narrowed at her in frustration. "I can do it," I insisted, feeling childish for my indignancy.

"Here," Edythe entreated as she used her hand to help steady the phone. It helped; but, I didn't exactly want to give her the satisfaction of being right, either. Only when I could hear the phone ringing clearly from the earpiece did I turn toward her in gratitude.

"Thanks," I whispered; pretending not to notice how devastatingly gorgeous her eyes were as I pressed the gray, cordless, phone against my head. It rang three times before a voice I didn't recognize called out through the earpiece.

"Hello, Forks Police Station, Deputy speaking."

Relief flooded over me that I hadn't miss-dailed for a third time. "Hey, it's Bella," when there was no answer, I stuttered. "Chief Swan's daughter?"

"Oh! That Bella!" The man said enthusiastically. "Your dad's at his desk, did you want to talk to him?"

"Please! Thank you," I praised as Edythe's heavenly slender arms enfolded around my waist from behind me. "I really need to talk to him."

Unless I imagined it, Edythe was pressing soft pecks along my shoulder as she listened. Needless to say, it made the five seconds that the call was on hold far more interesting.

"Hey Bells? Is something wrong?" Charlie's voice echoed through the phone with concern. A part of me wanted to say yes, because something – was – terribly wrong. However, if he worried, he could go down there and risk being attacked by Victoria and James for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Quickly, I searched for a plausible reason.

"No, nothing's wrong, Dad," I said with as cheerful a laugh as I could possibly fake. "I was hoping to talk to Jacob about something, but I forgot his number. Do you know their home phone?"

Charlie's enthusiasm leaked through the phone. "Sure I do! Got a pen?"

Glancing at the floor by my feet, half a dozen pens were rolled about lazily from my earlier snooping. "I've got plenty," I muttered with a subtle degree of sarcasm. Half expecting Edythe to pick one of them up for me before I remembered that she practically had eidetic memory. "Shoot."

"Okay, the number is…"

My head bobbed unconsciously for every number my father spoke, repeating it over and over in my head after he finished. "Alright, Dad, thanks."

"W-woah, woah, wait, Bella," He interjected before I could hang up on him. "Where are you? This number isn't our house phone."

Oh no…

"I'm at Edythe's house – finishing some homework," the lie seeped through me, and it would be a mercy if Charlie managed to buy it. Not wanting to risk it, I rambled before he could respond. "I'll be home around dinner time, promise."

"Bella, is something going on?" Charlie asked suspiciously.

"Just girl talk, dad, nothing to worry about."

My father made some kind of grumbling noise, clearly dissatisfied by my answers, but he said no more on the subject. "Alright, Bells, be home safe."

"I will, see you at home, Dad."

Hanging up, I started to dial the newly memorized phone number when Edythe cocked her head to one side in front of me. Her arms having released me moments before to survey the mess of pens and the state of her disheveled desk.

"Girl talk, hm?" Her playful voice brought a smile to my face, albeit, a troubled one. Her eyes were too clouded for me to read as I began to dial Jacob's number.

"Did you have something better in mind?" I asked distractedly, using my thumbs to punch all the necessary numbers into the phone.

"Perhaps," she mentioned vaguely. Her fingers trailing over where the missing bundles of paper had been on her desk.

While her fingertips trailed along, it slowly dawned on me that Edythe might have realized what I had stolen from her desk. Studying Edythe's shapely back with trepidation for how she would respond to my thievery. Each second of her body standing there stoically reinforced the terror welling up within me. The thought of a ferocious Edythe turning in anger to subdue me conflicted me on a wider range than I could cohesively comprehend. My heart felt frightened, though my knees responded by weakening at the thighs. Such a dizzying feeling of want that was lost on me the minute I heard the ringing stop.

"Hello?" A youthful voice answered, one that sounded very familiar.

"Jacob? It's Bella," I practically sang to not sound worried on the phone.

"Bella! It's so good to hear from you!" The sound of something crashing and fumbling with a loud metallic ping clattered through the phone. "Ouch."

"Are you okay?"

Jacob panted for a moment. "Yeah, yeah, totally fine," he probably lied, but that didn't matter right now. "I wasn't expecting your call! H-how are things?"

"Everything's great, Jacob," I began, turning my eyes from the rain-covered window to Edythe once more. She had her back to me, hunched over as though she was depleted of strength. A sharp stab plunged through my chest as I watched her; unable to do anything to help her right now.

Jacob was rambling about something – cars, rabbits, or how eager he was to hear from me. I wasn't listening anymore. My attention fixed on Edythe as she turned to me, something inexplicable plaguing her perfect face.

"Oh, yeah, cool," the words bubbled out lamely. "Actually, Jacob, I was hoping to talk to your dad for a quick minute. Is he home?"

Silence on the other end made me exceedingly nervous. "Uh…yeah," he began, swallowing uncomfortably. "He's in his room watching Bonanza. Why do you ask?"

Straining myself for a reason, the answer found me first. "I want to throw a surprise for Charlie, but you can't tell anybody."

Jacob instantly perked up. "Oh! That sounds great, do you need any help from me?"

"Totally! But I'm kind of in a hurry, I need to check something with your Dad so I can start planning."

"Alright, alright," Jacob said with a laugh, his voice traveling as he spoke. " Beal on Wheels is comin'."

Edythe turned to face me, only to sit down on top of her desk dejectedly and set her gaze down at my shoes. In the background of the phone call, I could hear Jacob talking to his dad, only to have the blurred sounds of a television turn off. There was more muffling before Jacob laughed into the phone.

"Okay, here he is. Talk to you later, Bella."

"Sure thing, Jake," I lied, ignoring how black-hearted I felt in doing so before there were sounds of shuffling and another voice spoke into the phone.

"Bella?" Billy Black's voice was as sagely over the phone as it was in person. I felt the weight of his strange black eyes from here, and my stomach rattled uncomfortably. "Are you alright?"

"I am," I began, exhaling a shaky breath. Either he was going to believe me, or he was going to think I was crazy. Either way, I had to try. "But I called to warn you."

Silence on the other end made me pace back and forth along the room. Once or twice I nearly stumbled over a stray pen sitting on the floor, though the second time my foot started to fumble Edythe folded her arms around my waist again. Holding me steady with my back against her chest.

"I'm listening," he said in serious enough tones for me to be reassured that he probably wasn't going to laugh at me.

"There were two people, _c-cold ones_ , who _aren't_ like the Cullens. They were going to attack us, but they escaped past the border into your territory. Carlisle and the others are waiting at the…um. That place by the river, to talk to you or the Elders about what happened."

I couldn't be wholly certain what disturbed Billy Black most; but, his voice was grave when he answered. "Thank you, Bella. We will handle it from here."

"Of course – I," Whatever relief or gratitude I felt in having properly warned Billy Black of the danger to the tribe faded when the call abruptly ended. Perhaps the concern overshadowed my countenance, as Edythe stepped around me, pressed her hands over both sides of my jawline, and drew in close enough to kiss me. Having done all I could think to do in this situation, a moment of weakness didn't seem too terrible to indulge in.

Wrapping my hands, and the phone, around her neck, I drowned in the rapture of her lips. If only for a moment, as she released me with the same temperament as she had claimed them. Pain stung her eyes, and for a little while, I forgot about everything else. My heart ached to see the anguish mar her beautiful face.

"What's wrong?" I whispered lamely, knowing full well how stupid the question was.

My question only provoked the glistening dew over her eyes to cascade in eerily parallel lines down her face. I had never seen tears fall with such precise harmony in my life. Both tiny streams washed through a strip of caked mud sticking to her cheekbones, and a blissful, floral, aroma captivated my senses. Perhaps I was simply too close to her tears or her breath, her vulnerability was so unearthly beautiful. My own eyes began to prickle and sting all over again at the sight of her silent tears, and soon I blinked rapidly to dispel the fluid that blinded me to her sight.

"Edythe _,_ " I begged, though not with the same forcefulness or demanding childish wailing that I had resorted to the other evening. My thumbs brushed away her tears, and with it, some of the mud which had stuck to her face. Cleansing her skin and dirtying myself. " _Please,_ tell me what's in your head."

Her mouth pressed against my forehead, and her arms tangled around my waist. "Bella, might you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

The letters and their heavy meanings weighted me down to the floor. Instantly, I felt so immobile that my feet froze in whatever position they happened to be in. Statuesque, nothing moved except my lungs – which pant restlessly of their own accord from the wave of terror that had so easily petrified me.

No! She couldn't being up those letters now! She couldn't still be thinking of leaving me …

Perhaps it was my shuddered gasps which induced the musical sob to break from Edythe's perfect lips. Or my complete silence to her tattered plead that gushed more tears to stream so exquisitely down her face. My Edythe had broken down in front of me. Despite the countless men or situations which had made my own mother cry in my shorter lifetime, I was so moved by my beloved's unvarnished sorrow that it rendered me mute and lifeless.

"I – I, _beg_ of you…forget what I have penned," Edythe pleaded as she sank down just enough to stretch her fingers toward my front jean pockets, underneath my coat, where here her letters had been folded away to hide them. How did she know they were there? Surely my jacket was just bulky enough to hide them? I must be underestimating her senses, perhaps she had heard them crinkle in my pocket when I moved.

"When I wrote those letters, I was not myself. Grief had blinded me beyond comprehension, and those words were never meant to be discovered." She professed as her thumbs rose to wipe away what budding tears had begun to shed before they had a chance to trail down to her chin. "I require no visions from Alice to be steadfast of your commitment to me – those letters belong in the wastebasket."

Reaching out for her tear-painted face, far too brilliantly glistening in the light of the desk lamp beside us, I leaned on my tip-toes to press my lips against her own. Numbed from how cold her skin felt against my own, in the back of my mind, I remarked at how strange it was that my breath no longer rose as a ghostly apparition. Had Alice or Jasper turned on the thermostat of the house when she came in? The reason didn't matter, I rejoiced that nothing impeded my view of Edythe's remarkable face. While her tears drew to a close, the pleading light still bathed over her eyes; I simply beheld her face. Her honesty; her frailty.

Before Edythe and I met, I rarely cried about anything, and now – here we were – more vulnerable in these past few weeks than the past seventeen years of my entire life. It was strange to have become so in touch with myself since we met – as though I didn't just discover her by my decision to move to Forks. I realized a great deal about myself, and not all of it was unselfish or good.

"I forgive you," the promise fluttered forth as my fingers trembled through her disheveled, bronze, hair. "I love you _with_ your doubts, and faults," I stuttered as she pensively studied me. Her beautiful eyes searching with such vivacity for any remnant of doubt that might gleam through my eyes. " – and perfect as you are to me, you have them."

Edythe chuckled breathlessly, a tantalizing curl tugging at the edge of her mouth in amusement at my acceptance of her flaws. "Several, at least." She leaned in to kiss me; but, I withdrew just enough to convey I wasn't done.

"I want you, Edythe Cullen, and we can talk about all those things in your letters – and everything we said the other night – _after_ we get back from the meeting tonight."

A muddled fog of sympathy and confusion tempered her gaze. "Bella, there is no guarantee that we can continue to stay in Forks – the wolves could _end our treaty tonight_."


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four - The Clearing

_Thank you for the review Sailor! I appreciate your praise. This chapter took quite a while to finish, and to be fair I was tempted to make it even longer, but this seemed to be the best place for me to pause. Please review or PM your comments to me, the reviews keep me going on track and I find them immensely helpful. I have comments for the reviews given; but, I want to try and keep -some- secrets of the future plot, so, if I seem like I don't respond, it's only to try and keep some things hidden for your future entertainment._

 _x_

 _Much love, B.R_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four**

* * *

"We still have to try."

Edythe slipped behind the curtains which covered two of her four bedroom walls. With the creak of a secret door, she disappeared inside, though her voice echoed loudly enough for me to hear. "Indeed, we shall. Ephraim was most agreeable toward maintaining peace – let us hope his descendants offer us the same courtesy."

The sound of drawers opening and closing arouse my interest, and I realized after hearing fabric ruffling that she must be packing or changing. A part of me yearned to approach the curtain and take a quick peek behind to know for sure; but, I padded backwards. Resting myself on the gray couch again as I slid my fingers deep into the pockets of my coat. The name 'Ephraim' sounded vaguely familiar, where had I heard that name before?

"Ephraim?"

"Ephraim Black – I believe he is Billy and Jacob's ancestor," Edythe's enchanting voice replied from the closet as the curtain swished and she resurfaced from the secret room. A small black two-day travel suitcase in her arms. While I admired her change of ensemble, she decisively picked four or five of the CDs from her wall and slipped them into the travel bag. Clad in multiple layers, starting with a dark gray raincoat that partially covered the silver and navy layered shirts underneath. With a strange sort of smile, I realized that she wore a thermal shirt that was similar to the ones I owned. Playfully, I half wondered if she had stolen the gray thermal top from my dresser. Curious as I was, and might inquire of later, I found my eyes drawn to the matching pair of leather Doc Martins on her feet. Did she have multiple pairs? Or was she just cleaned her boots _that fast?_

Slowly it dawned on me that the black Doc Martin boots were lingering in front of me. When I finally raised my head, Edythe was smirking at me in amusement. "Pray, has something about my shoes dazzled you, dear?"

My reverie was interrupted before I could deduce the answer. Another familiar tap-tap against the wall alerted us that we were no longer alone. Alice stood with her head pocking in through the doorway. A somber smile tugging at her mouth when our eyes met for a moment. "Jasper and I have finished packing."

Edythe didn't respond right away, as she had returned to thumbing over her hundreds of CDs. Porcelain fingers trailed along the titles before two more CD cases vanished into her small suitcase. "Take this, I am finished as well."

Alice entered the room, dressed in a new ensemble as well. Adding Edythe's bag to the collection of suitcase straps strung over her forearm. It was almost comical to see Alice holding so many suitcases on one arm. I half expected her to topple over from the weight of them, and yet, she gracefully sashayed from the room with no impediment to the flourish of her movements.

"I'll see you downstairs, Bella," She called to me affectionately from the hallway.

"Alright, Alice." I waved with zero grace, even though she was already gone.

The moment Alice's many suitcases evaporated from view, Edythe's fingers wrapped around my own. Our fingers interweaving as that familiar jolt of electricity rippled through me. Raising my head to look up at my taller Athena, the hope of being kissed withdrew me from the couch – only to drown me in disappointment when the kiss was a brief, unsatisfying, peck.

"Come, there's something I need to show you," Edythe pressed, and without a second thought I let her guide me. Her desk lamp flicked off, cloaking her bedroom in darkness before we breezed through the door. She led me along the upstairs hallway and paused in front of Carlisle's office, which looked so terribly lonely without the doctor seated in his desk chair. Guiding me into the melancholy study, she stopped in front of the wall of paintings and photographs.

"What am I looking for?" I wondered aloud, as Carlisle had already introduced me to this part of the house before. Beautiful as the paintings were, I had the impression that there was something more that Edythe wanted me to see.

"Our family safe," Edythe explained as she moved one of the landscape paintings sideways to reveal the expensive-looking contraption that had been hidden behind it.

"You guys needa safe?" Stunned, my eyes blinked excessively from surprise as she turned the spindle of numbers back and forth to unlock the device.

"Only for our most cherished and _delicate_ possessions," Edythe explained with a soft chuckle. "When we leave for decades at a time, it puts our treasures at risk. As a precaution for these sort of _emergency departures,_ we have this fireproof friend here to keep the fragile items safe," she mentioned. Her fingers manually inserting a code to unlock another mechanism of the device.

"Edythe, you can't know how this talk is going to turn out," the worry reached out from me, and I tried to touch her typing fingers anxiously with my free hand. "Don't you think it'll be silly to unpack the safe if you'll just come right back here?"

Pausing, she turned to look at me. Her shoulder-length hair falling in messy waves around her face. "I will feel safer knowing you have this," she mentioned as her body half turned toward the safe and I heard another loud click from the safe.

The door finally opened, and inside was a myriad of Hodge-podge nick-knacks. Snippets of lace, antique books I couldn't read the covers of, tiny jewelry boxes, the list only ended when the door closed again. In Edythe's hand was a small box made out of aged, navy, velvet which smelled like Grandma Rosemary's closet. Musty and stale, the smell surprised me enough to widen my eyes for a moment. She held it out to me expectantly, and I tentatively took it when she released my left hand from her grasp.

"What is it?" I wondered, about to open it when her hand touched the roof of the box to keep it closed.

"Nothing you need to vex yourself over, tonight," Edythe pressed with a sly grin, closing and presumably locking the safe with her other hand.

My face instantly paled. "Is this a ring?" The box hadn't been the usual shape you saw in the movies – it looked more like an earring box from an antique store.

"It was my mother's," she explained, her mouth curling almost shyly as she wrapped her arm around my waist and pressed my body closer to her.

"Woah, really?!" the enthusiasm of my voice surprised me. Suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to open the navy box, I tried to maneuver my hands to open it before she snatched the box away from me again. Moving so fast that the box was gone in an instant.

"Ah, ah, ah, not _yet,_ Bella," She playfully tisked. "Now is _not_ the time for that."

Feeling her parroting my words from yesterday night, I sighed and wrapped my arms around her neck. "Edythe, why are you giving this to me _now?"_ The box anxiously spun in my fingers. "I'm not finishing high school for, at least, another year."

Her mouth curled into a mischievous smirk as the tip of her nose brushed against mine. She was standing so close to me now that her scent and touch as all I could think about, and my concerns swam through my head as a sleepy fog. "It seems only fitting that the most precious thing I own be in your possession," she began, and while I wanted to answer, her lips were along my jaw. Feathering kisses that drowned me in the intoxication of her breath. "Promise me you won't mislay my heart if we must go away?"

"You wont," The demand whispered from me, and I felt the box slip away from my fingers.

"Promise me. Let me hear you say it," Edythe beckoned as the devil herself, black eyes blooming with hunger as she leaned her head away from mine. Keenly observing my face as the box vanished into my school bag. I'd been so focused on following her, I had completely forgotten to grab it.

"I promise, Edythe. Although, I'm not sure what you expect from me," my mouth curled into a halfhearted scowl. "I mean, I trip on _air."_

A hearty laugh broke from her lips as she held my bag out for me, expectantly. "It shall take more than a Topsy-turvy to break my mother's ring," she guaranteed with another sheepish grin as I slid my arms under the straps of my backpack. "Besides, tis _your_ safety which vexes me most."

"Eedee, I'm going to be _fine,"_ I exhorted. "Your family would never hurt anyone. This mess we're in – it's on those nomads. Billy will understand, I know he will."

Her somber eyes critically studied my face. "Perhaps," she finally mentioned as her fingers brushed locks of my hair behind my ear. "Are you ready to leave?"

"That depends – are you taking me with you?"

Her mouth pursed into a scowl. "I _had_ hoped to take you home,if you shall permit me."

"Not a chance." I shook my head more fiercely than I ought, and dizziness washed over me. "I'm part of your family, or I _will_ be. I should be there to support you. Carlisle _and_ everyone."

Watching the wheels turn as she drank in my insistence, my lip hurt from how strongly I had been nibbling on it again. It's a wonder I didn't rip a hole in it as I waited for her answer. Finally, with a sigh and a hard-pressed stare, she relented. "Only if you promise to keep to the line of trees, out of direct danger."

My arms raised instantly, and with a heavy sigh she dipped down on one knee so I could climb onto her back.

In hindsight, expecting Edythe to walk out of the house _before_ the world melted into a blur had been about as wise as expecting rain in a Phoenix drought. She flew over the railing of the stairs – panic stabbing through me as gravity lurched us downward. Terrified that we would crash into the living room piano, I clamped my eyes shut and buried my face in her hair.

When the powerful gusts of wind finally stopped berating my face, cold hands lowered me down on the ground. Where I was, I couldn't be certain, only that I felt a bed of cold pebbles underneath me. When I opened my eyes, the sun was only beginning to set behind the curtain of heavy clouds, but for now the rain had stopped. It was strange – how dark it was tonight. Under the canopy of trees beside us, night seemed to have already fallen, though I didn't notice it for very long. Perfect bronze locks dangled over my face, and Edythe's wide eyes stole away my ability to stare at anything else.

"Bella? Are you alright, darling?" Cold, slender, fingers caressed my cheek. "Did you remember to breathe?"

"Yes, yes," the words fell out of me in a daze, but at least my stomach wasn't writhing.

More eyes loomed over my face. Easily recognizing Alice's pixie hair, if I didn't imagine it I thought I saw her nose wiggling scornfully at her sister. "What happened to meeting us outside, Edythe?"

Edythe cocked her head to one side and sighed playfully. "And here I thought you could see the future."

"Ugh, _you_ ," Alice scoffed. "That is besides the point and you know it."

"Guys, stop fighting," I mumbled woozily, watching the breeze stir their hair.

Jasper's golden head bent to join Edythe and Alice hovering over me, leaving me feeling strangely caged against the bed of damp pebbles. Unlike the other two, he only stared for a moment. Long enough to reassure himself that I wasn't inebriated from the run before he stood upright and stepped away from me. Soft crunches on the ground conveying that we must be on some kind of pebble beach or shoreline. I heard water – but not waves of the sea.

"Where are we?"

"Beside the Quillayute river, along the border of their territory," Edythe answered warily as she held out her hand to me.

Taking her lithe, artist, digits in my own, she helped me to stand. "I thought I heard water."

"Silly Bella, you're as stubborn as Eedee is," Alice teased. Clearly relieved to see me upright, she expressed her happiness through an unavoidable embrace. Wrapping my arms around her smaller body, I noticed that all the suitcases and bags weren't in her arms anymore. Not seeing them nearby, or being carried by Jasper, my eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps they had been left at the house?

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not for _me,"_ Alice replied with a sheepish snicker that Jasper quietly joined behind us.

"Alice, now isn't the time to smother her," Edythe chided with a wry smile, and with a mocking huff Alice released me.

As the hug ended, I took a moment to survey our surroundings. Not far from where we stood, the Quillayute River lazily bent in what appeared to be a mile-long squiggly 'L' shape. Trees blocked my vision from seeing the beginning or end of the river to know exactly where we were. Facing the main curve of the swell, the shore from the line of trees to the water was a beach of small stones. Whether the pebbles were of varying grays and whites, or colorful like the beach of La Push, I couldn't be certain. The sky was too dark – the twilight hidden behind the rain clouds made the clearing an unnatural place.

"Where are the others?" I finally asked, not seeing anyone else but the four of us standing here.

"Carlisle and Esme are in the clearing of trees," Edythe mentioned, tipping her nose in the direction of the hill facing away from the river.

My lips curled into a scowl at the idea of hiking, but started walking in that direction anyway. "Are Emmett and Rosalie with them?"

Alice and Jasper sped up the hill when I started moving, leaving Edythe and I alone at the bottom of the hill. She looked at me with an unreadable expression at my question. "Yes. Though I think Emmett is in the trees watching the Highway for signs of life."

"Have the Elders not come, or?" Nearly stumbling over a rock, Edythe's hand touched my lower back to steady me.

"I should have brought you hiking shoes," she teased, ignoring the scowl on my face as she took my hand in hers.

"You could have just carried me up the hill," I countered, not wanting to talk about anymore ways I could become a Forks doll.

Edythe paused with a raised brow. "Are you asking me to carry you, ms. Swan?"

"No," I insisted, stepping through wet ferns as tall as my waist and hoping I didn't disturb any spiders in my blind stumbling through the thicket. "But, you could have."

"If I felt you enjoyed it, I doubt I'd set you back down," Edythe mentioned with another of her tomboyish smirks and I felt my knees go weak. Maybe walking up this hill _was_ a bad idea.

"I don't enjoy being fussed over. I've always been fussed over," I explained, trying to tug on her hand so she'd stop hiking. "But this is important. I don't want to miss half the meeting because I'm so much slower than the rest of you."

Edythe grinned broadly at me. "You won't. Billy Black and the other Elders haven't arrived yet," she said as she directed her free hand up toward the top of the hill. Beyond where my human eyes could see. "I swear, Emmett's going stir crazy waiting – he's climbed into that northernmost tree to keep an eye on the main road."

"No way," I laughed, squinting and seeing nothing as I tried to peer through the dozens of trees between me and the top of the forest. "I knew he was part bear."

It was Edythe's turn to laugh, and she snickered mischievously. "You should hear his stomach growl," she mocked in jest as she set her hands on my sides.

Glancing at her now that she'd stolen my attention, for a blissful second I thought she might distract me with a kiss, but she only dipped to hoist me into her arms. As uncomfortable as I was being held in a princess pose, at least she hadn't thrown me over her shoulder like a barbarian. Gripping my arms around her neck, I clamped my eyes shut and waited for the dizzy spin of motion sickness to hit me.

Instead, I felt her soft lips brush tentatively against my mouth. Just when I started to part them, I felt the world blur past me, and the heavy wind of her movement stunned me from being able to focus on the world around me. Much less be able to kiss her back.

"Not fair," I muttered under my breath, glowering at her halfheartedly, when we came to a stop.

"Later," Edythe whispered sheepishly, just as another familiar voice sounded to our right.

"Bella? You came with us?" Esme's melodic voice beamed brighter than the sun as she neared us.

I turned to look at her as Edythe set me down. "You're surprised?"

Esme glanced at Edythe for a moment before she answered. "Elated is a better word," she explained with so much affection that I couldn't have doubted her for a second.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," the confession floored me, if only because it was so startlingly easy to say to her.

The moment Esme stretched her arms out toward me, I fell into her nurturing embrace. There had been so many moments when I had been drawn into hugs since I met the Cullens – more hugs than I could count. With the exception of my mother, who hugged so tight I couldn't breathe, I avoided contact with others as often as I could. It was so comforting to be in Esme's arms that I barely noticed she was rocking me in her arms.

"Mother, I am going to speak with Carlisle," Edythe's perfect voice chimed behind me, and I turned my head to follow her.

"Of course, Eedee," Esme replied, her hands softly patting against my shoulder in our embrace.

Edythe walked to the clearing of tall trees, to a meadow similar to our private space, where Carlisle, Alice, Rosalie, and Jasper were waiting. Feeling the need to follow her, I slipped from Esme's arms and began to take a step in that direction.

"Let's give them a few moments, Bella," Esme suggested, the worry in her tone struck me enough to pause. "Will you sit with me?"

I followed her eyes to a fallen tree, nodding once as we headed toward it. While we walked, the thought occurred to me that she might be trying to keep an eye on me. Maybe keep me away from the main conversation in case the talk was unpleasant? I couldn't believe that Esme was the type to keep me from being informed; but, even so – a scowl mildly tugged at my mouth to debate the matter.

"Has Edythe ever told you about me?" Esme began, patting the long expanse of fallen tree beside her. "How I died?"

Grasping through my memory for the answer, I didn't answer until after I sat down on the fallen tree. "Edythe mentioned that you fell, I think?"

Directing her eyes only on my face, her gaze softened at my answer. "Edythe, ever the gentlewoman," she mused to herself, honeyed strands of hair falling over her face as though to hide some remnant of shame from her family. "It is sweet of her to protect my honor, but the truth remains – I didn't fall, I jumped from the highest cliff I could drive to."

Esme had committed suicide? That didn't seem like her in the slightest. "Why did you jump?" The confusion I felt from the question throbbed through my temple.

Distracted from the task of watching her hand press over my own, by the time I gazed back up the softness on her face had been exchanged for melancholy. "I had nothing left," she mentioned under her breath. "My firstborn died a few days after she was born. After the strain I endured to be rid of her abusive father, the stress must have hindered her growth during the pregnancy."

I didn't know what to say – how to even respond to such tragedy. When I realized my mouth was hanging agape, I closed it.

"Carlisle found me when they brought me to the hospital. He remembered me from when I was a child, heard my heartbeat faintly enough to be assured that he could save me," she continued on, and I avidly drank in her every word. "In some ways, I'm older than Edythe, but in regard to years she is my senior. Silly as it, knowing our age-gap, she has always been a daughter to me."

"Are you sorry that Carlisle turned you?" The question alone left a bad taste in my mouth, but with Rosalie and Edythe despairing life as a vampire – I had to know.

"Not anymore," Esme answered simply. "You must understand that when I woke – I had no will left to live any sort of life," She paused, her eyes staring away toward her family. "Carlisle had never meant for me to be his mate, nor did I have any faith in love, until I woke to this life and found joy."

Turning my eyes back to the clearing, Edythe and Carlisle were standing close together. A large dot I later realized to be Emmett leapt down from the trees, approaching the others instantly.

"So, it's not all bad, then? Being what you are?"

Esme turned to me, her eyes waxing with unshed tears. "No, certainly not. Though, without a purpose it does stretch on and on. It's easy to become bored, restless, or even faithless. Which is a fate I feared our Edythe might succumb to before you came into our lives."

I could feel Esme watching me without the need to turn my head, and yet, my eyes remained on Edythe. She looked to be talking with Emmett and Rosalie now, and her arms moved animatedly in conversation with her siblings. Even from a distance she was beautiful, and I found myself admiring her soberly. Wondering how miserable she must have been, if it was anything like the half-life I felt before I met her.

"It is not my place to ask anything of you, Bella," she began, and I finally turned my head to look at her heart-shaped face. "But I worry for my daughter. If she were to lose you, I fear how she would copewith eternity."

The meaning seemed clear, at least to me, and terror rushed through me at the thought of my Edythe wasting away to nothing on her own. "I don't know how I could cope with _sixty_ years, Esme," I confessed wholeheartedly and her hand patted my own for a moment. "I love her. It's hard just waiting until I finish high school."

Relief blossomed over Esme's face and filled my soul with the reassurance of being truly loved. "Bella, will you call me 'Mom'? After your turning?"

Delight washed over me. "I'll say it now, if you like, Mom."

In the midst of another perfectly serene embrace, I heard footsteps rush on the grass. Turning my head in time to see that my beloved had returned to me. Her eyes somber and anxious as she beheld my gaze.

"The Elders are almost here," her eyes shifted from me, to Esme. "Mother, will you stand by Carlisle?"

Esme nodded, brushing waves of honeyed hair behind her ears. "Of course. I shall see you after, Bella."

"Alright, _M-mom,"_ I called after her.

With a parting wave, Esme vanished in a blink to the center of the clearing. I moved to get up from the tree as well, only, Edythe set her hands on my shoulders and stepped up against my knees to halt me.

"Did you mean what you said?" She asked as her fingers knit through my hair. "Would you become what I am _faster_ if I willed it?"

A wry drawl curled my mouth. "You say that like this is your decision," I said with a laugh under my breath.

"Hypothetically, if it was – and I wanted it – would you turn tonight?"

Unable to deny the stars that shone in my eyes at the sheer idea of becoming what she was, my mouth gaped open. "Really? You'd do it? You'd bite me?"

"Just answer the question," She whispered sweetly to me as she bent down and brushed her lips over my nose.

"I'm ready," I whispered breathlessly. "Take me with you tonight – if your family has to leave, then let's go together."

"Bella, what about Charlie?" Her voice was so wet, so bitter-sweetly agonized that it hurt me.

"Charlie is the strongest person I know. If anyone can handle my leaving it's him," I insisted, even if deep down, I wasn't sure if that was really true. "He knows I won't stay in Forks forever."

"Darling, your father loves you completely," She entreated, pain stinging her eyes as her fingers combed worriedly through my hair.

"And I love him very much," I reassured, taking her hands in my own and squeezing them beside my shoulders. "But he can't be a part of this world."

"You have such precious time with him, Bella," her lips brushed over my jaw, my lips. "In two years, one year, _ten;_ you will wish for nothing more than to have spent every day you could with your loved ones."

"And that will be my cross to bear, Eedee," my voice rang out in damp, wavering, tones. "If you will stand with me through it."

She was silent then, studying me intensely, before she leaned away with a kiss to my forehead. "We can speak of this more after the meeting. As ready as I am to make you mine forever, these decisions require planning."

"Are they here?" I whispered, though I didn't need to, as though Billy Black would hear my hushed voice from across the clearing.

"Yes," She whispered back with an impish curl to her mouth. The smirk fading away as she withdrew to stand upright before me. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Standing up from the fallen tree, my fingers interwove with her own as she lead me out from underneath the trees.

In the distance, Billy Black walked through the opposite line of trees with a heavy wooden cane in his hand. Harry Clearwater and Quil Aetera the third were holding him on either side – as though to protect his dignity. He had always suffered from mobility issues since I was old enough to remember, from diabetes, I believe. How different it must have been to see Billy Black in his entirety, before his wife died and his health waned.

Tonight, I saw a glimmer of the man he used to be. The Chief he still, very much, was. With decades of aged wisdom brimming in his beady eyes, Billy Black walked without aid to the center of the clearing. Each beat of his cane thrumming on the ground. Fear filled Harry Clearwater's gaze, as though he expected his friend to fall over at any moment.

With pride and solemnity, Billy Black and the other Council members stopped ten to twelve feet from where Carlisle was waiting. I couldn't hear what he said; but, he seemed to issue forth a courteous greeting, as he nodded his head once, which Carlisle, Esme, and the others repeated in solidarity.

The only time he looked away from Carlisle was when he heard my foot stumble over a twig on the ground. The soft crack of noise shifting all eyes instantly on me.

Under the age-old weight of those black, beady, eyes – I froze.

"Bella?"

The shock radiating from Harry Clearwater, Billy Black, and Elder Aetera's faces was tangible. My feet suddenly gained sixty pounds and sank into the muddy grass.

"H-hey Billy."

Soft fingers toyed against the fabric at my waist as Edythe pressed against my side. Having her with me made their impending stares more bearable. They seemed to be as stunned as I was, and turned to whisper amongst themselves at seeing me here.

"Bella," Carlisle beckoned with fatherly affection as Esme gingerly squeezed his hand. "Thank you for joining us."

"What is the meaning of this?" Harry Clearwater demanded, his tone more stern and stoic than I could remember hearing it at any other point in my summer-long visits to Forks.

Not able to answer him, Billy attempted to touch Harry's shoulder; but, it did nothing to rest the harried nerves of his friend.

"What is Chief Swan's daughter doing here?" His arms raised up animatedly to push aside Billy's hand on his shoulder.

"Bella is involved in this," Esme explained. "It is only right that she be here."

Whether it was Esme's soothing nature, or Jasper's attempts at using his mood control, the tone of the clearing became much more palpable. It was soothing enough that I could finally inhale and rid myself of the breath I had been holding in. Billy and the two other Elders seemed to relax instantly too. Sure enough, Jasper and Alice approached from my left side. Soft footsteps coming to a stop in front of me before Alice turned her head to send us a reassuring wink.

"I see," Harry Clearwater grumbled quietly. Gesturing with a brisk nod for Carlisle to continue.

I couldn't be certain what it was about the nod that made me uncomfortable. Whether it was because the man only seemed to be interested in what Carlisle had to say, or the fact that he wasn't able to look at Edythe and I, sent slimy shivers through my stomach.

Carlisle took two steps closer to the Elders, as though to protect each and every one of us as head of his own tribe. "Let us not delay time. What Bella mentioned to you on the phone is true. We invited three of our kind to spend a few days in our home, in the hopes of helping them realize the benefits of an animal diet. We made progress with one, who left too see our cousins in Alaska early this morning," it amazed me how charming Carlisle was, how he could speak with such warmth and ease without rubbing a person the wrong way. There was nothing slick about his charisma, even now I felt compassion for him. Catching myself wondering how Carlisle might have been behind a pulpit, I shook my head free of such imagery to better pay attention to him.

"The remaining two, a mated pair, stayed for the sake of being sociable with my daughter, Alice," Carlisle stretched his arm out, and Alice flitted on her dancer's feet to his side. Taking his hand with the naivety of an innocent child before she let his fingers go.

"If I may interject," Alice began, standing eerily still to not appear childlike any longer. "The man, James, said he knew me. He inquired of my past and I wondered if he could have known my sire. We were talking when I had a vision of Bella," her eyes flicked to me, nay, all eyes flicked to me in a myriad of different emotions. "I made the mistake of saying her name out loud, _and…"_

"I can read the thoughts of others," Edythe's voice rose up beside me. All eyes now turned to her. "I heard his thoughts. How he wanted to hurt Bella – as a trap to destroy our family. He may have only been toying with the notion; but, my rather _vehement_ reaction to his thoughts has set him on this path of destruction."

Harry Clearwater and Elder Quil Aetera stood dumbfounded, clearly unable to believe that someone could hear the thoughts of others. While Billy appeared to be surprised, and even mournful, there was no doubt that I could see in his eyes.

"Why would this… _man,_ hurt Bella? What do you mean by 'you had a vision'?" Harry Clearwater asked, turning his attention between Billy and Alice in one fell swoop of motion.

Carlisle spoke before Alice could explain, as though to spare his adopted child further pain. "Alice, like some of our kind, has a special talent. She is able to see glimpses of the future. It effects her momentarily in a similar fashion to a seizure, and in that scope of time she may mumble to herself." Earnest concern shone over his golden eyes as he looked from Alice to me, and I was so afraid of the reaction of the Elders that my eyes never left Carlisle's face.

The Elders were waiting for an answer, and while I had every faith that Billy would have already guessed why Edythe would have reacted badly to me being in harm, clearly Billy hadn't shared these concerns with the other Elders. Why had he not told them anything since we spoke the other night? Telling a stranger that Edythe and I were a couple was easy – Harry Clearwater, Billy, these were men I'd known in some capacity since I was born. They were close friends to my father, and the silence wore on and on until Carlisle finally looked back to the Elders.

"When pressed, it was made known to James that Bella intends to become one of us, as soon as high school is over and preparations can be made."

"No!" Harry Clearwater gasped, indignant eyes sharply latching onto me. Knives without pain stabbed into me and stayed there, even when Harry set his harsh gaze on Billy. "She can't be one of _them,_ we _won't_ allow her to become one of you."

Edythe began to snarl beside me, her shoulders tensing like a lion preparing to pounce.

"The decision is not ours to make, Harry," Billy calmly answered, though his voice was low and heavy with grief.

"Not ours to make? She's a _child,_ Billy!"

"I do not enjoy the possibility either, Clearwater," Elder Quil mentioned, his tan hat obscuring his face in the shadows as it turned to look at Harry and stay there.

"No! Charlie can't be _allowing_ this! He must be told, we have to stop this!" – Harry turned to face me, ignoring Carlisle and the others now – "Bella, you _can't_ do this – it will destroy your father."

"She may still change her mind," Billy finally mentioned, his voice still soft and calm. "If I understand correctly, you graduate in two years or so?"

"Yes," Carlisle explained beside us. "Bella can, at any moment, change her mind and we will leave on schedule peaceably."

Our patriarch's words seemed to bring some relief to Billy's dark eyes; but, his gaze never left my face. Pressured beyond what I could bear to speak, I wet my lips.

"I intend to l-leave with _them_ , w-when I go away for college."

"But why, Bella?" Harry Clearwater began to say, when Billy raised his hand to squeeze Harry's shoulder. _No_ , his eyes said, and Harry's mouth formed an uncomfortably tight line.

"Not now, Harry. We have a present threat to concern ourselves of," Billy addressed, and Harry responded with an uncomfortable nod of understanding behind him. "Sam is presently searching our territory for the nomads you spoke of, Carlisle. We are grateful that you informed us of this danger and we shall do everything in our power to protect Bella while your Tribe disposes of this couple."

Edythe tensed beside me, her fingers releasing the fabric at my waist as she slid her arm from around me. Hands balled up into fists, she moved them behind her back as though struggling to tame the anger washing through her.

"Bella is a part of our family now," Esme countered as her eyes flicked from Billy to myself. "We shall do everything we can to protect her and her father," My Edythe, Carlisle, Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and even Rosalie nodded in agreement.

"Can your family track and destroy the couple _while_ guarding Bella and her father?" Elder Quil asked, his hat pointing from Billy to Esme as he spoke. "Thinning your numbers increases the chances of innocent lives being lost. Of Charlie and Bella coming to harm."

Billy thoughtfully gazed between Harry and Quil the third for several seconds before he directed his black eyes back to us. "We will allow you, temporarily, to access our land and remove this threat from our territory. If you allow us to take Bella home this evening."

Why did it suddenly feel like I was collateral? That they were asking to hold me at their house as reassurance that none of the Cullens would attack their people?

"Chief Black – surely this precaution is unnecessary. We are _perfectly_ capable of disposing of two cold ones. Even if Esme and I stay behind to guard Bella and Charlie; we have the greater odds – five against _two."_ Edythe's eyes were tempestuous; riddled so thick from anxiety that she moved to stand several steps in front of me. Her bronze hair stirred by a soft breeze as she turned desperately between Billy and Carlisle before her pleading gaze flicked toward me.

"It is a great trust you are placing upon us, Chief Black," Carlisle mentioned with such gloominess that I dreaded what would come next.

"Father, _please_ ," Edythe protested with glistening irises, to no avail. "Don't do this..."

"If you can assure us that Bella will be protected in your care, we will honor this agreement."

Edythe's hands tugged so tightly into fists that I feared she might lose a finger. Esme was too far to touch her; but, she reached out for her adopted daughter with the same piercing anguish contorting her heart-shaped face. Even Rosalie seemed to have mercy on her sister, and stepped away from Emmett to try and comfort her.

My love shirked away from all attempts at being comforted, glaring at the ground. Her eyes drenched with so savage a hopelessness, so great a lethargy, that I rushed my feet across the grass. She was leaving me, for an indeterminate amount of time, and I could hardly bear it. I took in her scent as though it were my dying breath.

"We have two spirit warriors who have phased since your arrival," Billy explained to Carlisle. "We shall have them protect Bella and Chief Swan while you are gone. If you remain in Forks, Cullen, these nomads may eventually return in search of you, and my people shall be in danger."

"And if they return" – Carlisle cautiously observed – "we shall do everything within our power to assist your spirit warriors in disposing of James and Victoria. We have no wish to allow harm to befall your people, or the citizens of Forks."

My beloved stopped holding me so tightly, and with a deep breath of her scent I felt her fingers caress soothingly down my spine. Even if Edythe was simply trying to savor every moment with me as pleasantly as possible, her comforting caresses gave me hope.

"Alice will keep her _eye_ out for James and Victoria. If they escape from our grasp tonight and return – her gift will be able to alert us," Jasper promised, and I angled my chin against Edythe's sublime shoulder to look at him. Affection oozed so strongly through me that I couldn't be sure if what I felt was my own or a fresh wave of encouragement from the tall, blond, fellow.

Billy did not immediately speak, and Harry appeared to be muttering quietly into his ear.

Something shifted instantly, then, as innately as waves returning to the sea. Edythe withdrew from my embrace and directed her focus toward Emmett. Her mouth begin to quiver apprehensively as I watched, and yet, no sound rose from her lips. Emmett's lips jostled back, again with no noise, before the silent tremor washed over each member of her family as a wave retreating back to the sea.

"What's going on?" I whispered as Edythe's arms wrapped around my waist again; protecting me against the front of her torso.

"The wolves are beyond the line of trees listening in on our conversation. They do not intend to break the treaty, but the new one cannot control his instincts well. Don't make any sudden movements," Edythe whispered her reply against my temple before planting a soft kiss against my forehead. Wolves? Did they mean real wolves? I looked toward the trees, but being unable to see anything, I pushed away that thought for now.

"You have shown yourselves to have more empathy than I gave you credit for, Carlisle. We wish no harm to come to you or your family, either," Billy replied, pausing with a strong wince contorting his face. He looked about to topple over, and Harry and Quil the third rushed to hold him steady in their arms. Ashamed at his lack of mobility, Billy accepted their care, though his eyes sank down to the ground. The other elders seemed to be asking if Billy was alright under their breath, and my heart wrenched at seeing Billy suffer. Even with barely knowing him, he was my father's dearest friend – his pain therefore meant something to me.

"If you shall promise to aid our spirit warriors in disposing of nomadic threats of this nature, then we have no qualms of your family staying in Forks if Victoria and James escape."

"Billy, you can't be-" Harry whispered an interruption; but, Billy shook his head with enough melancholy toward his friend to silence his protest.

"On the _condition_ that no citizens of Forks come to harm during your stay, or further dangers result from your family being here," Billy kept his eyes on Carlisle, resolute and firm in his admonishment. "If the nomadic people have not returned by the end of five years, we will consider your debt paid. After tonight, we must be alerted in advance before your Clan enters our lands."

"Five years," Carlisle repeated in acknowledgment. His lips trembled toward Esme, much to the display of earlier, before he continued on. "We agree to your terms, Chief Black. Shall we exchange phone numbers to stay in contact if James and Victoria return?"

"Bella?" Edythe's blissfully beautiful voice whispered near my ear as she scooped me up into her arms. I had no idea how long I had been on edge, holding in my breath, until the release hit me and I lost all strength to stand. Cold fingers coaxed strands of hair away from my forehead, and while I guessed my face looked goofy, I couldn't stop ogling her perfect eyes.

Her mouth curled mischievously at me, only to press against my forehead again in another soft peck. If only I could always feel this safe, this weightless. She floated me in her arms like I weighed nothing. "Dearest, when you hold your breath so long it worries me."

Hastily I withdrew a deep breath, so fast that dizziness swamped me. Edythe giggled quietly near my ear, strands of bronze hair touching my face as she shook her head.

"Edythe," Carlisle's voice was soft as honey beside us. "Let us all say our farewells to Bella?"

My heart froze in my chest. "Y-you'll only be gone for tonight, right?"

Carlisle's smile melted away the cold, for now. "We intend to take a couple days, or follow the trail as far as we can."

"The wolves lost their scent near La Push beach, we suspect they leapt into the ocean," Edythe mentioned, and the thought troubled me. How many people enjoyed being at La Push? My thoughts ran mad with images of the imaginary couple leaping out of the water to attack innocent children.

Shuddering, I nodded. "You'll be careful?"

"Always, my love," Edythe whispered as she set my feet back on the ground. Though I needed to hold onto her shoulder for a few seconds to steady myself, I didn't collapse again.

"We'll be back before you know it," Esme promised, and I fell into her arms unthinkingly.

"Just be safe _m-mom,_ " my term of endearment must have effected her, as her arms wrapped tighter around me. She kissed the top of my head, holding me close against her shoulder, before she withdrew and took a few steps back.

"Of course, Bella."

"My turn!" Alice chimed beside me with a beaming grin. Unable to escape the hugs if I wanted to, I just opened up my arms again in surrender as she twirled into my arms. Alice had a pleasant smell that ticked my nose, and I tried to not sniffle from the way her short hair tickled my nostril.

"H-hey Alice, y-you be extra careful out there."

Her laugh melodically bubbled against my shoulder. "I'm always careful, and besides, I know where they're going!"

Once Alice slid away from my arms, a thick booming voice gleefully chimed beside me. "Come here' sis!"

My eyes widened in horror as Emmett approached me with his mountainous arms. Freezing up, I expected to be crushed into pieces instantly; but, Emmett's hug was surprisingly gentle. Surprised, and grateful, I awkwardly patted his shoulder a few times before I was picked up and swung!

"Emmett!" Several voices shrieked in protest, the loudest being Rosalie, who bopped his shoulder so hard the vibrations made me dizzy.

"P-Please don't...oof, do that again big fella," I mumbled, staggering not to stumble when he set me back down.

"Sorry," Emmett sheepishly muttered, a mischievous look in his eye as he apologetically glanced at Rosalie. The intensity of her disapproval drained the smile right off his face.

"Bella, did you find our gift?" Rosalie asked apprehensively as she took a few steps toward me.

My heart leapt in my chest at remembering the beautiful cactus shaped mug. "I did, it was beautiful. It's so nice I'm worried I'll break it."

Emmett heartily laughed, covering his face with his mouth when Rose looked at him.

"If it breaks, we can repair it. Emmett is the best handyman around," she praised as she looked to her mate. Silly as he was, she was clearly smitten by the bulky fellow. "There's more that comes with the mug, but, we'll give it to you when we get back, Bella."

"Thank you, Rose," Edythe's voice was damp with gratitude, for reasons I didn't fully understand.

The look of tenderness and pain that passed between them unsettled me more; but, it ended as quickly as it began.

"You shall have to forgive me for not joining in the embrace," Jasper mentioned politely. "It is difficult standing near you as it is."

His darkening eyes flashed a rush of fear through me, even as Alice touched his arm.

"Don't worry, you wont hurt her," she encouraged with a loving kiss to his cheek. One she had to dance into the air to give, and I felt a sting of jealousy for her unending gracefulness.

Jasper's eyes warily glanced between Alice and I several times before he cleared his throat. "If you could please stand _very still,_ Bella," he mentioned as he stepped closer to me. Inviting me into the briefest of hugs, one I barely felt from how loosely he patted my shoulder, Jasper was gone again.

"Next time you'll do better," Alice teased with a chuckle. "Some _gentleman..."_

"Wicked little thing, you," Jasper teased in return as he dipped over and entangled Alice in his arms. Knowing a deep, romantic, kiss was coming – I looked away from the pair instantly.

Edythe beheld me with the same hungry look in her eyes that Jasper bestowed upon Alice. Excited to the point of feeling electricity in my toes, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and started to lean in to take her mouth in mine; but –

"Bella, Harry's heart isn't doing very well. Let's not give him a heart attack," Edythe warned, even as her eyes gleamed with sadness to be treated differently. I didn't want to give Harry a heart attack, but it also felt wrong to not be allowed to kiss her the way Jasper and Alice were permitted to do whenever they wished to.

"When you get back?" I asked, hoping Edythe got the hint.

Her mouth curled at the end in that devastatingly knee-weakening half grin. "Yes, when I return."

The squeak that escaped my lips made several people giggle, and I leaned away from Edythe with the reddest face I could ever remember making. It burned so badly that I looked down at the grass and shook my hair to hide my cheeks.

"Guys, stop," Edythe chided, and soon I felt her fingers brush locks of hair behind my ear.

Carlisle stood before me then, politely setting his hands at his waist. Attention torn from Edythe, I stepped closer to him. "H-Hey Carlisle," I bumbled lamely.

"Good evening, Bella," He mentioned with a cheerful chuckle underlying his rich vocal tone. His arms spread, and I found his hug to be the most awkward of them all. Not because it wasn't warm and affectionate; but, because of the weight of importance that his embrace meant to me. He didn't hug me as a friend, he hugged me as a father, and my emotions overwhelmed me.

"You may need to give the elders a hand, Bella. Billy has lost much of his mobility, and they are struggling to keep him upright," Carlisle entreated with empathy in his voice.

Reminding me, instantly, that I wasn't leaving with the Cullens. Glancing toward the Elders, a deep sigh soundlessly huffed from my nose. Not from annoyance or angst, but from the wonder of how I could possibly help Billy down the hill without stumbling myself.

"I'll do my best, Carlisle," I whispered back, already mourning the loss of my new family.

"We are prepared to depart, Chief Black," Carlisle called out to the Elders, who stood several feet away from where they were. Shuffling to help Billy down the hill as best they could and making very slow progress.

Billy turned his head and nodded. A refreshing of pride swelling through his features as he struggled to stand upright again without the assistance of his fellow Elders. His hand reached toward me, beckoning me closer.

"Alright, I better go," I whispered again, squeezing Edythe's hand for as long as she would permit me. Only then did I squeeze my hands around the straps of my backpack and cross the clearing toward the Elders.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five - Leah Clearwater

_It took me a while to finish this chapter, and believe me I wanted it to be twice as long as it ended up being. However, I feel this is a good place to stop the chapter, with a brief time skip before the next, which may be the final chapter. Not going to reveal anything, though. Let me know in the comments what you think about my couple of twists - some things will be changed from Canon, and I hope you dont mind that things may happen out of order.  
_

 _x_

 _Thank you so much for the reviews of last chapter, the little comments, or full length descriptions, give me a lot of joy to read. It helps to know folks are still keeping an eye on my work, I do this out of love and passion and it takes up a bunch of my time. When I'm not here, I'm role-playing in my forum or on our forum's discord. If you want to join, feel free to IM me or find my forum: Twilight, An Alternate Forum. I'd love to have more friends, and write some amusing stories with you all._

 _x_

 _I'm doing much better now, Sailor, thank you. And believe me, Opera Ghost, I nearly slapped Edythe myself and locked her in a closet. I like to think Edythe is smarter than Edward but, maybe it's just my bias..._

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five**

* * *

It took all three of us huffing and pushing to gently rest Billy Black into the passenger seat of Harry Clearwater's cream and red Chevrolet suburban. It was a surprise to have helped Elder Quil and Harry at all with my lack of muscle strength; but, their eyes beamed when I leaned away from the open door.

"Thank you, Bella," Billy Black spoke the words on everyone's mind, and I climbed into the back seat behind him.

The inevitable silence that followed was as heavy as rainfall. Cold and thick like the water that half-drenched my clothes. Desperate to avoid being roped into a thousand forceful questions, my eyes fled outside the window. Watching the world of black shapes pass by the window once the suburban kicked into drive.

Elder Quil was resting in the seat beside me, and within moments I thought I heard him snoozing. For a moment I wondered what it must be like to be a senior – if the jokes were true and this hour was the same as two am for him. He continued to breathe heavily and wheeze quietly from his nose, and for several minutes I hoped that meant all conversation would be pushed aside. I had no idea where this Suburban was going, and I could only assume and hope that we were going back to Charlie's house.

"Bella, is the truck at your house?" Billy Black's voice finally broke procession of window wiper scraping, rainfall, and nose wheezing.

"No, I" – my throat bulged uncomfortably – "I left him at the Cullen's house."

For a second I could feel the eyebrow being raised at 'him', but thankfully it wasn't addressed. Although, if I could be sure of anything, I knew that there was no chance in hell that Harry Clearwater was driving to the Cullen's 'nest' to rescue my Beast.

"Humnm," Billy Black replied, the low hum ladled with years of ancient wisdom. "Did you have the keys?"

My hand patted their usual pocket, sure enough, something poked my hip. "Yeah."

"Sam will have to go fetch your truck," Billy mused aloud.

Harry turned his head toward Billy then, clearly opposed to this idea without needing to verbalize it.

"If that's alright, Bella?"

"Sure, if Sam doesn't mind."

The Suburban turned, causing my bag to lurch between the back seats. Worried that Rosalie and Emmett's gift would break, I tugged the backpack into my lap and hugged it. The car jostled occasionally on old roads, but it stayed safe in my arms.

"We're headed to Harry's place to fetch some dinner. Did you eat?"

I was about to answer; but, Harry Clearwater spoke up first.

"Why do you want to become a _Cold One_ , Bella?" His eyes peered through me in the rear-view mirror with harsh criticism. "Do you realize what your father has been through? What will happen to him if you die?"

"Harry…"

"No, she needs to understand," He continued on, undeterred by his friend's pleading voice. "It nearly destroyed your father with Renee left him. Your grandparents were dyin'. He was over there every night to take care of them, and your mother just took you and _left."_

My mouth slipped open in shock.

Vaguely I was well aware that Charlie's parents had died when I was a baby; but, I didn't really know the particulars of what happened. Only that both of my parents told me they were kind and loving people. The idea that my mother would have left Charlie – while – my grandparents were dying wrenched open my chest. My arms pressing the backpack against my heart could not guard against that bludgeoning. My mind raced with images of pain and anguish. Of my father – alone – watching his parents die.

"It took us years to be with him and mend him. After he _dug their graves_ and took care of Billy after the accident," Harry went on without any mercy for his friend. I could only watch as Billy's head sink down in front of me. I'd heard from Charlie long ago that Jacob's mother died in a car crash. He was such a happy boy, I'd almost forgotten what his family had been through. Surely no one got over such a loss – I couldn't even imagine how I would begin to cope if Edythe perished.

"Charlie hasn't been this happy in years," Harry continued. "If you disappear from his life again – he won't recover," He shook his head over and over as his eyes remained on the road. "He _won't_ handle your death."

The intensity of emotion in Harry's words withdrew Elder Quil from his slumber. He inhaled loudly, wheezing as he did so, and blinked until some semblance of understanding crossed over his wrinkled features.

"Water, let's not assume what Charles can and can't handle," Elder Quil sleepily commented. While I had the feeling that Billy Black probably agreed with him, there was no reply from the seat in front of me.

"Is" – Harry's hands squeezed the steering wheel – "is the person you want to be, really _your mother?"_

On any other night I would have teared up in anger. My hand would have tightened into a fist, and my cheeks would have puffed up in combat for such a snipe at my mother. Renee was harebrained sometimes – a ridiculous gymnastic ribbon floating everywhere in the breeze – but she wasn't malevolent in nature. She would never hurt someone like that, or so I had thought.

Clearly she had, and the knowledge devastated me. For the first time, I truly didn't want to be anything like my mother. The irony that now, I realized how alike we were.

"Harold, that's enough," Billy's voice radiated authority. "The girl has been through _enough_ tonight."

For the remainder of the drive Harry didn't say anything, and yet I couldn't stop the wet trail of tears from streaming down my face. Charlie, alone. Loving my mother for so many years and years while she floated from meaningless partner to partner – eventually finding Phil. Taking care of everyone else and ignoring his own happiness.

Quil Aetera the third drifted back into an exhausted snooze. Soon there were only the sounds of branches being run over, rain pouring over the roof of the car, and my shaky breathing as I struggled to collect myself.

When the Suburban pulled into a residential driveway I didn't recognize, a figure jogged through the rain from the house. I couldn't get a good look at his face; but, he seemed to have only been wearing cargo shorts. The silhouette headed straight for the driver's side window, and Harry cranked the window down to speak to him.

"Sam, what did you find out there?"

"We lost the trail by the cliffs. The leeches jumped into the water, they could be anywhere by now," a familiar voice replied, and my brain began to recognize who Sam was. He was that man who had acted as a spokesperson when Mike led the expedition to La Push.

"Is Jared inside the house?"

Sam shook his head. "He's still too stressed to shift. He's waiting for me out back."

"Let the Cullens handle their mess," Billy interjected. "We need you to fetch my old truck at the Cullen's place. Bella left her car there."

A porch light shining directly against Sam's back made his face too shrouded to read. However, he seemed to tense at this news. Seizing up with his hands on the edge of the rolled down window before he nodded. I must have sat there immobile for several seconds, because Billy cleared his throat at me.

"Bella, your keys," Billy's soft voice tugged me from a mere observer, and I hastily tossed the keys. Which was a bad idea, as I nearly hit Harry in the face with them.

To our mutual relief, Sam caught them before they made impact with Harry's nose. The keys jostled in his shadowy fingers before he took off toward the porch-light.

"Go ahead and wait in the house until Sam returns with the truck, Bella," Billy mentioned over his shoulder at me. His black eyes kinder than I could have expected. "Harry needs to take Quil and I home."

Any desire that I might have had to escape this vehicle instantly evaporated. Being in a house full of strangers I barely remembered terrified me. My face was probably a mess, all blotchy and red from crying, I didn't want Harry's family to see me this way. What other choice did I have, though? If I stayed in the car, eventually it would just be Harry and I alone. Nope, I was not going to handle that. Urging myself to move, the click of the seat-belt jolted me from my frozen stupor.

"Okay, Billy, thanks," The words whispered out of me, and coddling my backpack like a teddy bear, I hopped out into the sheeting rain.

"Take care, Bella," Elder Quil sleepily mumbled to me with a crinkly smile before I closed the door.

Harry Clearwater said nothing, and I watched the car back out of the driveway before I turned to look at the house. Unable to see much of its detail because of the darkness and the rain obscuring what wasn't revealed by the the porch-light, what I could make out was that it wasn't a two-story home. It was simple, boxy, and painted steel blue. The porch steps were concrete, if one could call one block of cement a porch.

Growing increasingly more damp as the seconds passed, I wiped my feet on the welcome mat and carefully maneuvered the bag in my arms to open the door.

Three pairs of eyes looked at me when I entered. One of them was friendly, one of them seemed uncertain what to think, and the third had an expression that resembled amazement. All of them were startlingly curious, and I couldn't think of what else to do than to weakly wave in greeting.

"Goodness, Bella, you've gotten so big," the voice wasn't familiar to me, and I turned my head toward who I assumed was Harry's wife. She was in the small kitchen, a metal spatula in her hand, and the smell of burgers being cooked wafted through the entire house.

"Um, thanks Mrs. Clearwater."

A young boy, who looked anywhere from twelve to fourteen, had gotten up from playing video games on the couch and was walking toward me. I stared at him with another weak, friendly, wave, but he didn't say anything to me.

"Please, call me Sue." The woman requested, before she turned to the young boy and set the Spatula on a little plate on the stove. "Seth, can you go wash up before dinner?"

"Sam's still in the bathroom," Seth complained, his beaming eyes still watching my face.

"Well, use the kitchen sink," Sue insisted, and Seth's mouth curled in a grumble as he walked away from me and scooted past his mom.

"Sure," I mumbled softly.

"You can set your bag on the chair, if you like, Bella." Sue pointed at one of the wooden dinner chairs, and I padded over to set my backpack on the chair. Sliding one of the arms over the back of it for good measure, knowing there was a fragile thing in there to protect.

Hearing the sink turn on, when I turned to look at the sound Sue was back in front of the stove. She was turning burger patties with the spatula, and the smell was salivating. If the kitchen was any larger, Id have offered to help, but Seth and Sue could barely stand in there without bumping into each other, and I didn't want to get in their way.

My gaze drifted to the rest of the living room. A light gray L shaped couch in front of the TV practically absorbed the entire room, where some video game remained paused on the television. Near the hallway, a girl my age or a little older stood with her back against the wall. She was studying me with shrewd, sharp, eyes, and I instantly felt uncomfortable.

"So, you're friends with the Cullens?"

The question took me so off guard that my mouth hung open. Billy had only seen me with Edythe the other day, how did she know about me? Harry had only just learned tonight.

"Leah," Sue warned from the stove, pointing the metal spatula disapprovingly at her daughter. "No talk of that in our house."

"But you are, aren't you?" Leah asked me, moving away from the wall.

"Leah Julia Clearwater..."

"It's okay, Sue," I swallowed uncomfortably, hugging my damp arms under my chest to try and shake off the cold shivers from the rain. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Leah responded with a quiet nod. Distrust furrowing her eyebrows as she continued to watch me. She was a very tall girl, at least four inches taller than myself, and her athletic figure reminded me of Edythe. She had a strange sort of beauty to her face, with eyelashes as thick as feather dusters and beautiful copper skin. You wouldn't immediately notice her beauty, it wasn't obvious and classical like Rosalie. She had a subtle sort of beauty, the kind one had to grow to appreciate. And yet, for whatever reason, I couldn't look away from her black eyes as she studied me. Her long black hair fell in plain stringy patches around her face. Why I found her beautiful, I didn't know, but perhaps it was the flicker of intensity in her black eyes.

"Can I ask what that's like? Being around cold ones?"

"Yeah, I want to know, too!" The preteen boy was back, giant eyes eagerly drinking in my face with enthusiasm. He pushed past Leah, or tried to, as his sister grabbed his shoulders and irritably held him in front of her. "Heyy!"

"Geeze, don't crowd her, Seth."

"I'm not gonna crowd her, Leah!" He said as he struggled, and it was so adorable that I laughed. "See! She's fine with it."

"If you really want to know, I can answer some questions," I began, but hastily looked toward the kitchen. "If your mom doesn't mind."

Sue sighed, and I could hear the spatula scraping against the grill as more patties were added to the saucepan. Relenting with a softness to her kind voice before the scraping continued. "If you're not bothered by their questions, Bella."

"No, it's fine," I shook my head, trying to ignore how Leah's sharp eyes so easily pierced through me. Seth was such a cute kid that it was impossible for me to be angry at him. Even as he practically ran through the small living room to save his game and turn it off.

"Come sit by me, Bella!" He eagerly chirped. Drawn in by the welcoming smile he plastered me, I slipped past the back of the L and sat down a foot away from him. Not that it mattered, because Seth hopped his butt over and squished up against my side.

"Seth, stop it," Leah chided, and Seth grumbled as he hopped a foot away from me again.

"Sorry about my brother, he gets really excitable," Leah mentioned warmly; but, her eyes were still ladled with wariness.

Seth glared at Leah like she just robbed him of 'cool points'. "I'm right – here – _Leah."_

Chuckling, my mouth curled with a smile. "It's okay, I think it's kinda sweet."

Seth hopped back beside me, and I instantly regret my comment. "See! She knows I'm awesome."

Leah sighed, uneasiness tugging her mouth into a grimace. "Don't sit so close, Seth."

He grumbled and scooted three inches away, which made me feel infinitely more at ease. "Sorry, Bella."

"Hey Seth, can you go fetch one of my blankets for Bella?" Leah asked, and Seth glowed at any opportunity to do something nice for me. To the point where I wondered if Seth had an adolescent crush. Which was cute, really, but he didn't quite have the dopey lovestruck look that contorted Jacob's face.

"Oh, yeah! Don't start without me!" Seth was off the couch like a rocket.

"Don't run in the house, Seth!" Sue called out behind me, and Seth slowed his gait before vanishing into the hallway. I should have suspected that a heavy question was coming, because as soon as Seth was gone, a distant look overshadowed Leah's face.

Her voice was soft, to prevent being overheard by her brother. "Sam told me you came with the Cullens with the meeting tonight…"

"Yeah," I whispered back.

"And you intend to join them."

The noises in the kitchen suddenly quieted. A part of me wanted to lie, that it would be easier to pretend I hadn't made up my mind about it, but it felt so dishonest. Leah clearly was involved in some way with the supernatural kingdom I had been thrust into, and it was a relief to consider that she might be in the same boat as me to some degree. At any rate, she wasn't glaring at me. She genuinely wished to know, and her eyes were sharp with her insistence.

"I do. Once high school is over."

She nodded morosely, setting her hands together between her knees and squeezing her fingers into a hard knot. "Why?" She asked me, her brow furrowing from puzzlement. "I don't mean to be rude, I just don't understand why anyone would _want_ to become a lifeless blood sucker."

My face paled over, if only because I knew how it would sound to say the truth out loud. That I was in love with Edythe Cullen, and I wanted to become a vampire to be with her and her family. How could I possibly word that without sounding like a selfish, spoiled, teenager?

"It's kind of complicated to explain," I began. "I guess I fell in love, and then I fell in love with her family."

Leah's eyes widened in shock; but, instead of stopping I just kept talking. Rambling on and on to try and skim past that little surprise. "The Cullens are really great people, they would never do anything to put themselves at risk of hurting anyone. When, if, I become what they are – I would be like them. Hunt animals and keep people safe."

Unfortunately, it didn't work. "You're into girls, Bella?"

"Yeah. Edythe Cullen. She's my" – It felt both weird and _right_ to say – _"_ mate."

It was obvious that Leah didn't understand what to say or do, as she gnarled her body up against the back of the light gray couch and gawkily fumbled her mouth trying not to scowl at me.

"I think I can understand," Leah finally spoke with inordinate fondness warming her face. For a second I thought the sweetness was being directed at me, and my chest began to thrum in faster beats, but then I felt a hand on the couch behind my shoulder.

Sam was standing there, and it was obvious by the intensity in his fierce gaze that he only had eyes for Leah. She came alive as he watched her, hopping up from the couch with Seth-like enthusiasm to rush into his arms. It hurt me to watch them together, and something like jealously burned through me. It was so easy for them – they could kiss each other blatantly in a living room, on the street, in their car, without any judgment.

"Ewww, get a room guys!" Seth gushed with an exaggerated grimace as he tossed a native-print quilted blanket over my shoulders from behind the couch. "Gross!"

Well, almost no judgment.

I turned away from the blissfully oblivious couple, hearing them continuing to kiss each other behind me as the smell of burgers finally caused my stomach to rumble like a dinosaur inside me.

"Sam, I'm sorry, but you're only getting – one – burger for the road," Sue Clearwater exclaimed with sheepish glee. "We have company."

Did that mean I was sharing in that marvelous smelling dinner? My stomach practically shouted in excitement, and unthinkingly I rose up from the couch and tugged the messy cape from around my shoulders. The fabric huffed when it landed on the couch, and I was ready to move toward the dinner table when I realized that Sam was watching me. Glaring at me with his chin nestled against Leah's shoulder as he held her.

Freezing, I couldn't bring myself to move and risk aggravating Sam more. Thankfully he broke eye-contact first, looking at Leah again with that 'home for Christmas' warmth as their noses rubbed together. Leah giggled bemusedly and it twisted my stomach all over again.

"Seriously, Sam! Get off my sister, sheesh!" Seth playfully shoved Sam, which did next to nothing to the muscled older teen.

Sam laughed and playfully kicked his foot against Seth's backside. "Hey, I'm behaving."

Seth snorted as he scooted past Sue toward the burgers.

"Seth, be careful!" Thankfully his mom didn't drop the paper plate with two burgers on it as her son bolted past. "Here, these are for you and Jared. Make sure he gets back to the garage okay."

"Do you really have to go?" Leah's mouth dipped into an adorable pout as Sam moved to take the paper plate of burgers.

"I'll be back in an hour," Sam said with both adoration and authority as he gazed into her eyes.

"You better be," Leah replied, clearly smitten by the kisses which had swelled her lips to be plump and perfect.

My heart growled with nearly the same voracity as my stomach. I missed my Edythe so much that watching Leah and Sam was unbearable. I wanted Edythe back in my arms, needed her to be back as soon as possible. Cold to the point of shaking, I hugged myself as tightly as possible to pretend she was with me. That the cold I felt was because of her delicate marbled arms wrapping around me. It didn't work, but for a moment I could imagine her here with me.

"Ahm-ays," Sam muffled, having already shoved one of the burgers against his mouth. He headed out the front door, still chewing when it closed behind him.

With Sam gone, Sue and Leah directed their attention on me again. "Go ahead and fix your burger before it gets cold."

Leah, grabbing a paper plate with her own, began to move toward the hallway. Watching me with unsettled eyes as she drifted away. Presumably to eat in her room, or put some distance between us. Did my being with Edythe make her uncomfortable? Was she mad?

"Here, Bella! Sit with me!" Seth called out from the couch, and I realized that they weren't eating at the dining table. Which was probably a good thing, since there was mail and clutter on it that must have been accumulating for a while now. I'd been so focused on their family that I didn't notice the mess on their dining table.

Sue sat opposite Seth on the L-shaped couch, smiling affectionately toward me as I moved into the kitchen to wash my hands. Regardless of how hungry I was, bringing myself to dress up my burger with a bunch of sauces didn't appeal to me. It wasn't easy to eat at a stranger's house, and the less things mixing together in my stomach the better my odds of escaping indigestion. Plain burger with cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce it was.

By the time I sat down, the television was on, and I relished in the relief that Sue and Seth were both watching TV instead of wanting to talk to me. For quite some time we watched a family-friendly game show with two different families answering questions for a jackpot prize. Things were quiet, at least until we all finished eating, which was when Seth lit up with youthful exuberance.

"Will you tell me more about cold ones, now?" Those pearly teeth were hard to resist, but my stomach knotted from the pressure.

Gazing at Sue to see if she disapproved, her dark eyes were equally curious. It made me wonder how much she knew of the Cullens. If she thought they were evil, or thought I would be evil by choosing to be one. Sue turned away from me just long enough to turn off the television with a black remote.

"What did you want to know?"

Seth froze – clearly weeding through a thousand questions. "What's it like when they hunt?"

I instantly paled. "I wouldn't know for sure, the Cullens don't hunt – with – me. Edythe says it's not safe. They give themselves over to their primal selves, purposefully going as far away from people as possible," I paused, to wet my lips. "They went to Mount Rainier, for Grizzly bears. They're really careful not to over-hunt, so sometimes they're gone for a few days so they don't damage the ecosystem."

Seth was amazed. So filled with wonderment that he stalled again to consider another question.

"Will you tell us about Carlisle, Bella?" Sue spoke up before Seth had a chance to make up his mind. "Do the Cullens" – she struggled for the word – _"dislike_ our people?"

Turning my head to look at her, Sue was leaning forward. Pressing her elbows against her knees as she sat on the edge of her seat.

"I'm still getting to know him, really," I began, tugging the native-print blanket over me as I continued. "But, he's the most compassionate person I know. If there is anyone incapable of hating someone, it's Carlisle."

Hugging the blanket over me, I halted. Trying to consider Sue's second question, my mind raced to when I was at their house earlier tonight. The way they used the term 'wolves' as though it was a form of slander. There had to be some state of unrest there, something that caused the animosity, but what?

"Is there a reason you're asking me, Sue? Did something happen between you both?"

Sue's hands began to tremble, ever so slightly, but her face maintained her kind eyes with a graceful strength. "From what I understand, before the treaty was made, one of our ancestors attacked Carlisle's mate."

My eyes welled up instantly. "Esme was attacked?"

"To my understanding, the matriarch – Esme – was almost killed by my ancestor, Levi Uley. Before they realized that the Cullens were not like other cold ones, he attacked her. Carlisle showed great restraint. He and the other two could have easily overpowered Levi and killed him, we would not be here today if Carlisle had not held his family back."

"I didn't know about Levi," the awe in my voice surprised me. "But that certainly sounds like Carlisle. He only uses violence if he has to."

"We are aware of that, but I fear the enmity has carried on ever since then."

"Edythe really loves her mother, I can understand why she and Rosalie would still be upset about that." My hands fumbled under the blanket, rubbing together as the cold from being half-wet finally hit me. My lips shuddered as Sue brushed several strands of her black hair behind her ear.

Sue took a moment to study the dingy carpet. "So you think they are capable of love, then?"

In the corner of my eye, Seth grimaced – clearly disinterested in sappy stuff. It was easier to look at his disgusted disapproval than to gaze back into Sue's eyes right then. My eyes fell down, onto the quilt above me, studying the intricate colorful patterns above my hands. It felt like Sue thought I was a young, stupid, teenager – like she was going to try and reason me out of my decision. Still, I had to answer, and with a heavy breath I spoke.

"I think their love for each other, their bond of family, is the only thing keeping them going. If they lost that completely, I think they would _want_ to die."

Daring to peek at Sue's face, her expression was an unreadable puzzle-box. In the very least, she appeared troubled, but I couldn't think of anything I could say or do to help. She was a tower of strength, mulling over memories of a past I didn't know about. This time, Seth took advantage of the silence.

"If you say they're good people, Bella, that's all I need to know," he beamed a hundred watt smile at me.

"Thanks, Seth," I replied, and I truly was. His sweet, easy, innocence and trust suddenly meant the world to me.

"Mom, can Bella and I play Mario bros?"

"Only until Sam gets back, then you have to go to bed," Sue digressed as she stood, taking our paper plates to the kitchen to presumably toss them in the trash.

"Aww, but _mom..."_ How Seth managed to turn one word into an eternal syllable reminded me of myself. Back when I used to beg mom not to make me go to Ballet class. It never worked, not until I broke my arm, so when Sue chirped a hard 'no' behind us, I chuckled.

"Sure, I'll play with you. But I'm warning you, I probably suck."

By the time Sam arrived with my Beast, Seth was playing for both of us. I watched, pretending to be amused as a kindness; but, deep down I was glad that Sam was here. Even if it meant watching as Leah bounded out of her room, giggling excitedly, and leaping into Sam's muscled arms.

"Ewwwww, Moommm they're _kissing again!"_

"We'll see you later, Bella. You're welcome anytime," Sue promised, and I knew she meant it by the smile she gave me.

"Thanks, Sue," I mentioned as I held my backpack against my chest again.

"Will you be alright driving home, Bella?"

"She should be," Sam mentioned between kisses. "The rain's stopped."

"I'll be fine, Sue, really. I'm used to rainy roads now," wanting to leave; but, blocked by a kissing couple, I looked down. Staring awkwardly at Leah's bare feet, partly because her toes were painted black and it was such a startling contrast to her russet-copper skin. They moved in a dance-like way, if one could call gracelessly flopping between standing and raising to the balls of her feet 'dancing'.

"Leah, Sam, darlings, you're blocking the door," Sue gently mentioned after clearing her throat.

Watching the pair shuffle out of the way, I cleared my throat respectfully and squeezed past the happy pair. "Thanks for dinner, and letting me stay here."

"It was no trouble, Bella. Call me, if you ever need to _talk about_ _anything_ ," Gazing around Leah and Sam toward Sue's face, her eyes were heavy with meaning. She meant if there was anything I couldn't talk to Charlie about, and I understood her completely.

"Sure, Sue," I blubbered, setting my hand carefully on the doorknob. "Oh, I need my car keys..."

Sam chuckled, tugging them out of his back pocket and tossing them at me. However, with my hands full, the keys bounced past my shoulder and landed on the floor.

"Oh, shit."

"Language, Sam," Sue chided.

"You guys are so rude," Seth scowled with a sheepish nosiness to his chipper face as he hopped from the couch, bent over, and picked up my keys for me. "Here you go, Bella."

"My hero! Thanks, Seth," I replied with a grin, and Seth practically floated with pride in himself.

Leah watched me shrewdly over Sam's shoulder, and for a moment I wondered if she had heard any of the conversation I'd had with her mom. "See you," she said in parting, before Sam offered a brisk nod.

Keys in hand, door open, it took going exceptionally slow toward my beast not to slip on the pavement. Somehow I made it there without falling on my face. Maneuvering to open the door, I slid my backpack along the bench toward the passenger side and slid into the cab. Burr, it was cold in here. Had Sam not turned on the heat - at all - on the way down here? Needing to warm up the cab again, my roaring beast was running for two loud minutes before the front door opened, and a silhouette emerged.

"Hang on, Bella." The figure ran toward my window, and hastily I rolled it down to see who the figure was.

"Yeah?" It was Sue, and my eyes widened with curiosity. "Is everything, okay?"

"We want you to have this," Sue mentioned, holding out the blanket I had been held in. The pretty brown quilt with colorful patters and colors embroidered over it. "From all of us. To keep you warm on the drive home."

"Are you sure?" The blanket was beautiful, at least it was to me. Admiring the intricate patterns earlier, I was touched that Sue had noticed how much I loved it; even though the pressure to be given gifts made me uncomfortable.

"Seth insisted," Sue pressed, and while I sincerely doubted that Seth came up with that idea on his own, the motherly concern in Sue's eyes was impossible for me to ignore. Why did she care about me so much? Was it just because her husband and my dad were such good friends?

"Well, if Seth insisted," I playfully smirked as my hands reached out the window to grab the blanket.

Sue's hand suddenly took hold of my wrist, and she pinned her chestnut eyes at me with great timidity. _"Please,"_ her voice was as tortured and wet as the waves of the sea. "Please, think about _Charlie,_ b-before you become one of them."

Struck by the pain in her voice, I said nothing as she rushed back into the house. Light from the house faded away when she closed the door gently behind her. Leaving me sitting there with the folded, hand-made, blanket resting in my arms.

Pondering why Sue looked like her heart was breaking, I buckled myself in and set the blanket over my legs. Unless I imagined it, there was a silhouette watching from the front window, though it could have just been the way the TV reflected against the curtain.

By the time I pulled out, the silhouette was gone. Not wishing to waste anymore time, I turned on Edythe's oldies radio station and made my way back to Charlie's house.


End file.
